Way of the Samurai: A New Life
by Lily Hanson
Summary: Follows Way of the Samurai: The Samurai's Last Stand - The Rangers have done it. They've defeated Xandred and the Nighlok and the Netherworld is back where it's supposed to be. Now they can finally get started on leading normal lives.
1. Start Of A New Life

_Disclaimer: I do not own Power Rangers: (Super) Samurai. This is purely fan-made._

Mike packed up his suitcase and pressed it down. He had to sit on top of it to zip it back up, but everything managed to fit inside. It was heavy, but with his clothes and souvenirs for himself, Emily, and all his friends and family back home, it was worth it.

Emily was doing the same with her bag, but she was packing a little slower – having to stop when she took the souvenir for Mia in her hand.

After defeating Xandred and destroying all the Nighlok for good, as well as sealing the Netherworld forever, the Samurai's parents gave them a little push into their new lives as normal people. Serena and James, Mia and Kevin, and Antonio and Jayden had all gotten their own homes to start their new lives and new families in. Because of all the attacks, the houses were so cheap they were easy to afford and pay off almost right away. People were so desperate to leave behind the town that had almost gone to hell, they were practically giving their homes away.

Mike and Emily didn't get a home, though. They had gotten a honeymoon, and an amazing one at that. Their parents had paid for everything. Aside from souvenirs, Mike and Emily hadn't had to spend a dime, and they had nothing to worry about while on the beautiful islands of Hawaii. It was the most relaxed they had been… ever, and they knew that when they got home, they had a room with Serena and James. It wasn't ideal for Mike, having to live with his sister in-law, but it gave him to opportunity to start saving up some money so he and Emily could afford a place of their own. Though he would never turn down an offer for a free house, there was a sense of pride that came with paying for it himself and providing his wife and their future family with a house.

On their honeymoon, they left everything behind. They Skyped with their friends back home a couple of times, but for the most part they had forgotten about nearly everything in Panorama. There was no drama, no conflict, nothing to think about. But the trip was coming to an end, and the closer it got to the time where their plane would take off and force them to leave Hawaii forever, the more Emily started to think about what she had to go back to.

As far as she knew, it wasn't much. Mia was still home, she knew that much, but she didn't know where the pink Ranger stood; if she had made any effort with the others, if she even wanted to be a part of their family again, or if she even regretted leaving them all behind.

And still, even if things had been resolved, they hadn't been resolved for Emily. Mia's leaving had burned her badly. Mia had taken off selfishly, like her mother had done, without a goodbye, like her mother had done, and without promise of ever returning, like her mother had done. Emily simply couldn't let that go.

She didn't want to let Mia go, though. She had always grown up admiring Serena and needing that older sister figure in her life, and just before coming to the Shiba House she had to watch as her strong, brave, sister withered away slowly. Serena was alive today, thankfully, and very healthy, but there had been a time in Emily's life where she needed a sister and didn't have one. When she left for the Shiba House, she had felt truly alone. She had no contact with her parents, no idea what would happen to her sister or if she would ever see her again, and she was essentially trapped inside a house with people who she didn't know, and for the most part she didn't even really like. Ji had been intimidating, Jayden had been anti-social and a jerk to her when they first met, and Kevin took a lot of getting used to. She had a little crush on Mike from the moment she met him, but that only made it harder to talk to him, and without her sister to give her advice she was a little scared. Mia had been the first person she really felt safe with. She couldn't throw it all away and she was willing to give Mia a second chance.

If Mia worked for it, though. She wouldn't be getting off lightly. Emily was forgiving and trusting to a fault, but once people hurt her, they had to work to earn it all back.

Mike took Mia's souvenir from Emily's hand and stuffed it into her bag. He packed everything up for her and smiled.

"Everything's going to be fine."

Emily nodded her head and sighed as she got up, "I really wish we could stay in Hawaii forever. There's too much back home."

"I miss home, just a little bit," Mike shrugged his shoulders, "Besides, don't you want to go home and see everyone again? Your sister, James, Terran, Storm…?"

Emily smiled brightly as she thought of her family, "Can we bring them here?"

"Got money?"

"Nope," Emily pointed to her suitcase, "I spent it all on gifts."

"Then we have to go. Hurry up, we're going to miss our flight."

"Oh yeah… that part."

"You'll be fine."

"That's what you always say."

"We haven't crashed yet."

-Samurai-

It had taken a little convincing, but Mia managed to convince Riley to move in with _meanie_ Kevin. It wasn't always easy for the couple to sort everything out, but they were starting to feel confident they could make it. They had both been hurt, and the wounds would take a little more time still to heal, but they were healing.

It also helped that they had their own little side missions to keep them distracted from time to time. More people were coming back to the city and businesses were starting up again. Kevin was looking out for a job, hoping to find something that would help him earn a couple bucks and possibly lead him into a career. He had a few leads, most of which involved working at the city pool, but so far no real promise of a job.

Mia, meanwhile, was keeping herself busy by trying to locate Riley's family. She had gone back to Riley's house and found a list of emergency contacts and cellphone numbers. Unfortunately, most of the numbers were within Panorama City. Mia hadn't been able to reach anyone, and had absolutely no leads on where Riley's friends and family could be and more than ever she believed them all to be dead.

Riley didn't seem to care so much about her family. At night when she had nightmares she still screamed for her mother, and sometimes when she heard the door opening she would run to it and call for her father (only to be disappointed when it was just Kevin). Once or twice she had even called for her brother. But for the better part of the day, she was just a carefree child.

An excited, carefree child. She knew Mia was the pink Samurai Ranger and had promised to keep the secret from everyone (even the other Samurai, who she had no idea were Samurai). She would play pink Power Ranger games all day, and even insisted Mia show her a few moves. When Mia wasn't busy with Kevin or trying to find a home for Riley, she would train the little girl, and she did so without worries. Unlike her grandmother or her mother, Mia could train Riley knowing she would never have to use her skills to fight monsters. She would never have to send Riley, or any other child, off to war and ask them to carry the weight of the whole planet on their shoulders. It was a good feeling, and Mia enjoyed training so much more.

But she was still frustrated with finding Riley a home. More than anything, she wanted to give the little girl a good life.

Kevin came home, entering quietly so as not to disappoint Riley, and walked into the kitchen to find Mia. She was on her laptop, looking up the names of those reported deceased and those reported missing. Already a few of Riley's contacts had been confirmed dead, and Riley was never reported missing. There was still no one looking for her.

"Don't stress yourself out," Kevin said as he rubbed Mia's shoulders to help her relax, "Something's going to come up. In the meantime, Riley's always got a home here with us. She's fine."

"What if they're all dead? What if no one's looking for her? You heard the vet: hundreds of pets had been abandoned by their owners."

"A parent wouldn't do that to a child. Not to a little girl as sweet as Riley. If someone's out there, they're going to come looking for her. Have you called Ji? You left the number to the Shiba House at her parent's house."

"He promised to call as soon as they did," Mia shook her head. "I'm serious, Kevin, what if she's got no one?"

"She's got us."

"Kevin…"

"Give it a little time. If no one starts looking for her soon, or if everyone is dead, we'll keep her."

"She's not a dog, Kevin. We can't just…"

"Mia," Kevin chuckled as he sat down beside her and took her hand, "We can keep her."

Mia gave him a skeptical look and then glanced over her shoulder. They didn't have many games for Riley at the house, so Antonio had brought over his Wii and a Power Ranger Samurai game. Riley was tiring herself out as she pretended to be the pink Ranger and fight all the monsters on the screen.

"Are you saying…?"

"It's a little sooner than I would have liked," Kevin nodded his head, "I mean, the plan was get married, be married, and then start a family, but there's a kid in need."

"I know I threw a bit of a tantrum about the fact that I can't have kids, but I don't want kids now, I mean…" Mia looked back at Riley again, "You're right. You're totally right. She's lost so much already. If she can't go home with someone she trusts and loves, the best thing for her is to stay here."

"We'll let fate decide," Kevin gave Mia a kiss. She smiled and closed the laptop, taking a break from her search for now.

"So how did the job search go?"

"Nothing much. There's just some guy at the local pool who's looking for a swim coach."

"And…?"

"A lot of people are gunning for the job."

"And…?"

"None of them would ever come close to being considered for the Olympics."

"And…?"

"I got a job! He hired me on the spot!"

Mia's eyes widened and she threw her arms around Kevin, holding him in a tight, loving hug.

"That's amazing!"

"Turns out, the city almost flooding scared a lot of people. Everyone wants to learn how to swim. It's not a lot of money, but it's a start. I'll be teaching kids, seniors, adults, teens…"

"Teens?" Mia asked with a sly smirk, "Like boy teens?"

"Boys and girls. Why?"

"So, teenage girls?"

"Yeah."

"You're going to be teaching hormonal teenage girls?"

"It'll be tough, but I think it'll be pretty fun."

"You'll be teaching hormonal teenage girls while wearing nothing but a tight bathing suit. A tight pair of basically underwear."

"Yeah… What are you getting at?"

"You love me, right?"

"Of course."

"Then this is going to be hilarious," Mia gave Kevin a kiss on the cheek before getting up and walking to the living room. "Alright, Riles, let me show you how a real Samurai does it!"

-Samurai-

Jayden's trip to see Antonio's father and meet his future father in-law had been…

Antonio thought it had been hilarious. Jayden had gotten so nervous and Mr. Garcia had a sense of honour. He had always liked Jayden and from the moment Antonio reintroduced them Antonio could see his father was proud to see Antonio had chosen a good guy, but Mr. Garcia had spent most of the visit messing with Jayden. There were more than a few embarrassing stories to tell.

Jayden thought it had been embarrassing. Mr. Garcia had got him, and he got him good. Jayden didn't leave his future father in-law's house on a bad note, but he wasn't planning on returning anytime soon, mostly because he was a little too humiliated to show his face again. If he didn't see Mr. Garcia until the wedding day, that would be okay with him.

Lauren was finding it to be very interesting as she listened to all the stories Antonio had to tell and it was great blackmail to use against her brother. Though she had decided to stay with Ji and Kate at the Shiba House, she visited her brother and Antonio often, wanting to stay close with them. Jayden was her brother, and she had been motivated to work her entire life so she could go back to him, and Antonio was quite obviously the love of his life. Though he sometimes drove Lauren crazy, she always made the effort to get to know him and get on his good side. If he was important to Jayden, he was important to her.

"So then, Jayden turned bright red, looked to my dad and all he could say was: _that's not mine!_" Antonio had tears running down his cheeks, and Lauren wasn't far from it as they were both laughing hysterically. Jayden, meanwhile, was in the kitchen, muttering about how it hadn't happened exactly like that.

"I said:_ I don't know what that is."_

"Same thing," Antonio waved his off and turned back to Lauren, "You should have been there. I've never laughed so hard."

"I wish I had been," Lauren laughed and looked over to Jayden, "Make that face you made again when Mr. Garcia caught you."

"I didn't make a face. I didn't do anything wrong!"

"It looked like this," Antonio twisted his face strangely, trying to imitate one of the ridiculous faces Jayden had pulled while he was being pranked.

Jayden grumbled and shook his head, "You two only get along when you're making fun of me. Emily's right, big sisters do suck."

-Samurai-

Serena waited nervously at the arrivals gate at the airport. Mike and Emily's flight was due to land at any moment and she was there to pick them up. James and Terran were sitting on the bench a little further back, but Serena needed to be close to the doors so Mike and Emily wouldn't get lost.

Today wasn't a day to be nervous, but Serena didn't exactly have good news for the couple. She didn't have bad news, but it wasn't something they would want to hear. The incident involving Riley's kidnapping had gotten a little bit out of hand. As it turned out, the man who snatched Riley was working with a bunch of other people. Many kids had been left behind during the final battle and were waiting for their parents to return or for friends and family to come find them and the group the stranger was associated with decided to take advantage of the hardship to earn a couple bucks. They were snatching unsupervised kids in hopes of selling them back to friends and family for money. A few of Ji's friends had already gotten to work tracking all of them down, and now that the city was starting to come to life again the Panorama Police Department was also keeping an eye out for child snatchers. Riley, fortunately, hadn't been taken too far before Serena and Mia found the guy who took her.

And they had found him thanks to Storm. She had sensed trouble and as soon as the front door opened she bolted after the man. She managed to follow him into the city and led Mia and Serena right up to the alley where he was hiding. She wasn't a tracker by nature, and her hunting skills were reserved mostly for small prey, but when she was on a mission, nothing stopped her from her goal. Fortunately, she had made it her mission to protect Riley, and she had done a good job of it too. She found the man and attacked him.

Unfortunately, it had cost her. She was still at the vet's and if all continued to go well she would be okay, but she had taken a hard hit to the head which had knocked her out cold for hours. She eventually woke up on her own, and the doctors had assured Serena it was a concussion, but they were keeping the dog close for any signs of anything more severe. Storm was acting normal given her state, but she was a little wobbly and a little confused.

Emily wouldn't be happy to hear that. Twice she left on a trip and put her precious dog in Serena's care. Twice something horrible had happened to the dog. The first time was when Emily and James had gone to Japan to try out the possibility of curing Terran of his Nighlok life. An attack on the Shiba House had cost Scruffy his life. Now, Emily went on her honeymoon, left Storm in Serena's care, and though the dog wasn't dead, she had still gotten hurt.

When the airport announced the plane from Hawaii had landed Serena felt her stomach turn. James got up and walked over to her, pushing the stroller with Terran inside. He knew she was worried.

"It's okay. She'll understand."

"I feel like the dog killer," Serena shook her head. "She's never going to trust me with her dogs again. I'm never going to babysit my nieces and nephews! I've killed one dog and given the other a concussion. Who is going to trust me with a baby?"

James, and even Terran, looked to Serena liked she was crazy. Serena saw the stares and sighed.

"What do you know? You're obviously both insane for trusting me."

James took Serena's hand in his and gave her a comforting squeeze, "Storm's going to be fine. The dog's head is as hard as her mistress'."

"I hope so," Serena said and turned back to the gate to look out for her sister. Though she had bad news for Emily and was dreading sharing it, she was also a little excited to see her baby sister again. It had been far too long for Serena and she wanted to hear all about Hawaii. She had never gone on vacations or trips with her family during her childhood before her illness. In fact, aside from Panorama City and Japan, she had never left her hometown (and both occasions had been for Samurai duties, not for pleasure).

"Memy!" Terran suddenly shouted and slipped right out of his stroller to race off. Serena and James weren't exactly sure what they were supposed to do. He had been strapped into the stroller, so slipping out was supposed to be impossible, and he had just spoken his second word.

"Really? Memy before dada?" James grumbled while Serena chased after her son. Terran raced up the ramp and right into his aunt's arms, hugging her excitedly.

"I missed you so much," Emily lifted the little boy up and hugged him tight, "I thought about you the whole time we were gone."

"Ew," Mike wrinkled his nose and turned to Serena, giving her a hug as she welcomed him home, "Terran got away from you?"

"He's going to be trouble," Serena nodded her head and pulled her sister in for a hug, squishing Terran slightly. "How was Hawaii?"

"Between landing and take-off, perfect," Emily said, "Getting there and coming back, I could have done without the plane."

"You'd still be paddling," Mike chuckled. They cleared the way for other passengers and started the walk to the car, catching up to James who gave Mike a hug and then gave Emily the cold shoulder.

"What did I do?" she pouted.

James gave her a glare and then looked to Terran, "Who is that?"

"Memy!" Terran smiled and hugged his aunt again. James stuck out his tongue at Emily and then walked ahead.

"He's known me longer!" Emily cried teasingly and hugged her nephew. James continued to walk ahead, pretending to be angry. Emily whispered in Terran's ear, "I'm so holding this over daddy's head forever. High five, little monkey!"

As Emily chased after James to tease him about Terran's second words, Serena hung back. Mike was busy laughing, happy to see Emily cheered up after the flight, but he wasn't too busy to notice there was something a little off about Serena.

"C'mon, you can't be that disappointed I came back," he joked with her, "At least I brought Emily back. And I promise, we won't talk about the honeymoon… nights… and days… and…"

"Shut up. That's still my baby sister," Serena gagged and slapped the back of Mike's head. He chuckled.

"What's bothering you?"

"How… attached do you think Emily is to Storm."

Mike stopped dead in his tracks and looked Serena right in the eye, "What did you do?"

"Well… you see…"

"You're never dog-sitting again."

"Yeah, I… hey, you were with me when Scruffy died. If I remember right, he died in _your_ arms."

"Storm's not dead, is she?"

Serena shook her head, "No! No way. I'm not _that_ bad. She just… got hit…"

"Hit? Serena…"

"I didn't hit her. Someone else did."

"Who?"

"She did a good thing."

"So did Scruffy."

"We'll talk when we get home, okay?" they finally got to the car where Emily, James, and Terran were waiting. Serena helped Mike get his bag into the trunk and gave him a look. Mike shook his head and got into the car.


	2. Believe In Christmas

Dinner time was approaching. Mia had put aside her search for Riley's home for now, and had forfeit on the Wii, declaring Riley the ultimate virtual Samurai of the night so she could get started on dinner. Kevin was upstairs. He had gotten a job at a swimming pool and naturally he wanted to do his very best. No matter the task, Kevin always had to give his duties a hundred percent. It was a part of who he was, even without the weight of being a Samurai.

He was also hiding out in his room because Riley didn't like him and she was in the living room. He couldn't blame her. He had yelled at Mia, her hero, and he had pushed her down the stairs. It had been an accident, he hadn't wanted to hut her and he had apologized. It seemed Riley wouldn't take her own advice and forgive the apology. She accepted it, but Kevin still caught her giving him dirty looks.

Riley was in the living room, but she wasn't playing with her games or her pink Ranger toys. Instead she was staring out the window, watching as a little bit of snow started to fall.

"Riley, dinner's in five," Mia called, bringing the little girl back from her thoughts, "Go wash up."

"Mia, it's almost Christmas, right?"

"Yeah."

"When are we going to get a tree? Does Santa know I'll be here for Christmas?"

"Santa?"

Riley nodded her head, "You don't know Santa?"

"I know Santa," Mia chuckled and smiled at the little girl. Santa hadn't been a big deal for her growing up. She got a few presents on Christmas morning, but it was never much and she had always known they were presents from her parents and her grandmother. She knew other kids believed in Santa and she knew all about how he travelled the world and gave toys to the little boys and girls who believed he existed. He would climb down chimneys and set presents under the tree, and he flew around in a sleigh pulled by a bunch of flying reindeer – one of which had a red, glowing nose. Really, it was all ridiculous, but it was magical. It was something Mia felt she had missed out on as a kid. The true magic of being a kid and believe the world was an amazing place.

"Do you think he knows where to find me and what I want? I wrote a letter for him, but he never wrote back?"

"What do you want for Christmas?"

"Muffin…"

"Muffin?" Mia asked before remembering. Riley had owned a cat whom she obviously loved very much. When the Sanzu River began to flood, her brother saved her just in time and then went back out, risking his life for the little animal and ultimately he paid the price. Riley had watched him die. "You want your kitty?"

"Mommy promised we would get a tree. A big tree! And I wanted a lot of presents underneath."

"I'm sure Santa's going to give you a ton of presents…"

"Are mommy and daddy really dead? I know I say they are but sometimes I wish they would come home."

Riley sighed and looked out the window, "I miss mommy, and daddy, and Peter."

"He was a good big brother, wasn't he?"

"I'm never going to see him again, right? And I'm never going to see mommy or daddy again, right? I'm never going home?"

Mia's heart broke in two, as it always did when she was around Riley. She pulled the little girl into her arms and hugged her.

"I can't promise mommy and daddy are coming home. But I promise you will have a home. By Christmas, you are going to have a home."

"Is Santa going to bring me one?"

"Yeah," Mia kissed the side of Riley's head and then set her on the floor, "Go wash up. Spaghetti for dinner."

Riley walked off to the bathroom and Mia sighed loudly. She didn't know what to do so she walked upstairs to hers and Kevin's bedroom. She sat down on the bed and let out a big sigh for Kevin. He turned to look at her.

"What?"

"Riley's asking about Santa."

"She believes in him?"

"I told her Santa was going to give her a home for Christmas, but I don't know what's going to happen. What if we don't find her parents?"

"I told you. She has a home here."

"What if we do find her parents, and they're dead. Kevin, I can't tell a little girl her parents aren't coming back for her."

"She already thinks they're dead."

Mia shook her head, "I don't think she really does. She's hurting a lot, Kevin. I want to help her but I…"

"You are helping her," Kevin leaned in and gave Mia a kiss, "You're amazing and we're going to figure this out. Whatever happens, we're going to have a wonderful Christmas and she's going to have a wonderful Christmas."

"She wrote a letter to Santa. It must have been right before the battle because she never got one back. She's worried he doesn't know she's here."

Kevin put down his notebook, where he was jotting down ideas for swimming lessons and gave Mia a smile, "I'll work on that. You just go downstairs and take care of dinner. I smell something burning."

"You? Oh shit, the sauce!" Mia cried and raced out of the room. Kevin chuckled as he shook his head and walked to the bathroom to wash up for dinner.

"Maybe it wasn't a family of bad cooks. Maybe they were all just too distracted with each other to cook something properly."

-Samurai-

"So, let me get this straight," Lauren looked up at Kate decorated the top half of the pine tree they had brought into the house, or as Kate and Ji had called it, a Christmas tree, "Once a year, every year, for a long as any of us could remember, a fat man in a red suit flies around the world, in a single night, a delivers presents to every single boy and girl on the planet. And, he does that by flying around in a sleigh pulled by nine reindeer? Nine flying reindeer?"

"What's not to believe?" Kate chuckled and held out her hand.

"The only believable part of that story is the fat man eating cookies all night," Lauren rolled her eyes, "Seriously?"

"Yep. Pass me the bell."

Lauren picked up the ornament and passed it up to Kate, "Wait, if this has been going on forever, is being Santa like being a Samurai. The responsibility gets passed down from generation from generation?"

"Nope. Just one guy with a fat tummy."

"One guy? And he's older than anyone else on Earth?"

"He lives forever."

"How?"

"Magic."

Lauren rolled her eyes. Kate chuckled.

"Seriously? You draw stupid little Kanji in the sky and make fire and more appear from thin air, and you can't believe in magic?"

"This fat man, all he does is give presents and eat cookies?"

"Stop calling him fat. His name is Santa Claus. Or, if you prefer, you can call him Nick."

"Why?"

"That's his name."

"He has two names?"

"And a reindeer with a blinking red nose."

"Really?"

"Yeah."

"You're kidding."

"Nope."

"I don't believe you."

"Maybe you'll believe Christmas morning."

"There's no way a fat guy can deliver presents to millions of children around the world in a single night. There's just no way that's true."

"Star, please," Kate held out her hand again. Lauren rolled her eyes and passed the star.

"This is a stupid reason to celebrate."

"It's my favourite time of year. You're going to love it."

"I find that hard to believe," Lauren said and had a look around at the winter wonderland Kate had set up in the common room.

"What did you do on Christmas?"

"I trained. By the way, when is Christmas?"

"December twenty-fifth."

"Yeah, I was definitely training. Can I go back to my room now?"

"Don't you want to help with the gingerbread house?"

"We… we have a house."

"It's… all show you. Meet me in the kitchen."

Lauren rolled her eyes and walked to the kitchen as Kate climbed down the ladder and looked at the tree. She gave a big, bright smile.

"It's perfect."

"Lauren never had a Christmas," Ji suddenly said behind her, scaring her as he grabbed her around the waist. She jumped and spun around in his arms.

"Don't do that."

"Lauren doesn't remember celebrating any Christmas. She wasn't raised to believe in it, especially after she left here."

"I get that," Kate nodded her head and smiled, "It's her first Christmas. She deserves a little holiday magic."

"But trying to get her to believe in Santa Claus? Don't you think that's pushing it a little too much?"

"She hasn't had a childhood, Ji. She's craving it and Christmas is the perfect time to give back everything that's been taken from her. She deserves this. Trust me, I've raised two kids."

"They're your nieces," Ji chuckled and shook his head. Kate smirked and started walking backwards the kitchen.

"And I got them to believe in Santa."

"When they were kids. I doubt Serena and Emily still believe…"

"In Christmas magic? Then tell me why, every year, on Christmas, Ellie would always send me emails about how Serena was always feeling better. Never well, but better. Even when she was dying, Serena was always strong enough to be with her family and celebrate on Christmas day."

"Coincidence. Excitement…"

"Magic," Kate smiled. She picked up the box of decorations, "Now, Mr. Grinch, if you don't mind, Lauren and I will be making a gingerbread house. You are welcome to join us, if you promise not to ruin Christmas."

"I'm not trying to ruin Christmas. I'm telling you it's ridiculous to ask a grown woman to believe in Santa Claus."

"Then you don't get to decorate the ginger bread house."

Kate turned into the kitchen and Ji bit his lip. He did want to decorate the ginger bread house.

"I guess it's possible. I mean, Santa maybe doesn't deliver all the presents himself, but I'm sure he makes sure every kid gets a toy."

"Are you coming or not?"

Ji nodded and rushed into the kitchen.

-Samurai-

"Storm has a what?" Emily shouted as Serena and James explained to her and Mike what had happened while they had been honeymooning.

"A concussion."

"You managed to give our dog a concussion?" Mike crossed his arms over his chest, "That's talent, Serena."

"When can she come home?" Emily asked, "Is she going to be okay? You can't tell me she's okay and that she had a concussion in the same breath!"

"You've had a few concussions. You're fine," Serena shrugged.

"I walked into the doorframe getting into the house."

James tried but couldn't stifle a laugh. It was still funny. Emily shot him a look.

"And where were you while this was happening?"

"Keeping an eye on my son."

"Likely story."

"Emily, Storm's going to be okay. The vet's confident we'll see her back to normal soon. We'll just have to keep a close eye on her for the next couple of months to see if…"

"She'll be back to normal soon, but we have to keep an eye on her?"

"It's a concussion. They take time to heal. Storm's tough, just like you and Mike. I'll bet, once this has passed, we won't notice a difference in her. She'll bounce right back."

"If she's like Emily, she'll probably be bouncing off doorframes and tripping on the stairs," James chuckled. Emily glared at him and Serena gave him a pointed look.

"You're not helping."

"Terran said Memy."

"Go get dinner started."

James walked off to the kitchen. Serena looked at both Mike and Emily, "I'm really sorry, guys. But Storm did a good thing. If it weren't for her, we may have lost a little girl."

"Yeah, that's the part I'm stuck on," Mike said, "Who is Riley?"

"I'll let Mia explain that part," Serena said and she turned back to Emily, "Speaking of which, I know you're still upset with her and I wanted to…"

"I'll talk to her. She's still home, right?"

"At her place. I'll give you the address if you want."

Emily nodded her head and then excused herself as she headed up to her room to get Mia's souvenir from Hawaii. She didn't know what to expect from her talk with her pink sister, but she figured she could at least give it a shot. Knowing what she knew now about why Mia ran off, the least Emily could do was give her another chance.

She got the present and then headed back down the stairs. She got the address from Serena and got ready to leave.

"Don't think you're off the hook yet," Emily glared at Serena. "You still gave my dog a concussion."

"Will ice-cream for dessert help?"

"No," Emily shook her head and was about to leave but she stopped, "but that doesn't mean I don't want ice-cream. Chocolate, please!"

She left the house, closing the door behind her, "I'm never leaving California again. Not without my dogs."


	3. Mia and Emily Talk

Emily found Mia and Kevin's home but she couldn't bring herself to ring the bell. She wanted to forgive Mia, but every time she thought of what her best friend had done it brought back memories of when her mother left, and of the times Mia promised she would never leave. It had been a worry of Emily's for a while that once the war was over everyone would go their separate ways and forget about each other. Mia and Kevin especially had plans of finding a home, and Emily had mistakenly thought they were looking for homes out of State. That hadn't been the case. Kevin and Mia always planned on staying close, but it had been something that concerned Emily. To reassure her that the final battle wouldn't break up the Samurai family, Kevin and Mia especially had promised they would stay in touch. By taking off, Mia had broken that promise. She had done exactly what Emily's mother had done, and she had broken a promise.

She sat on the patio steps and sighed. Hawaii had been amazing. Coming home was depressing. Storm was at the vet's for at least another night and Emily still had to deal with the drama between herself and Mia.

She wasn't sure how long she had been sitting on the patio for, but it was long enough for someone to notice. Mia sat down beside her, handing her a hot chocolate.

"You look like you're cold."

Emily wrapped her hands around the mug and nodded her head, "Hawaii doesn't get cold. The sun's always shining."

"The honeymoon was good, I take it."

Emily picked up the bag containing Mia's souvenir and put it down beside the pink Ranger, "I got you something."

"You didn't have to," Mia said but she opened the bag and looked inside. The gift wasn't much. It was a couple of shells which Mia assumed Emily had picked up from the beaches of Hawaii, and a pink shirt with a tiki head on the front. Mia was touched by the gift, though. When Emily and Mike had left for Hawaii, they had no idea Mia would ever be coming back. A few calls during the honeymoon told them otherwise, but Mia never got the chance to explain herself to her little siblings. The fact that Emily and Mike had thought about her enough to bring something home for her made Mia smile, but it also made Mia feel guilty. When she had run off, she had run away from her problems, and she had tried to get away from Kevin for reasons she still didn't completely understand. She had never really intended on leaving the others behind.

"I love it, Emy."

"Don't call me that. I'm still mad at you. We both are."

"I can't have kids."

"I know," Emily nodded her head and glared at Mia, "It doesn't mean you can't have a family. What you did…"

"I'm sorry."

"Mom did the same thing."

"I know."

"But yours was worse. Mom is… well, she's my mom. She's supposed to stick around. But she never promised. Not until after she came back did she ever promise she would never leave. You promised and then you ran away."

"I'm so sorry, Emily."

"You better be," Emily glared at Mia hatefully. "I'm not like you. I don't have friends and family wherever I go. Everything I care about is here in this city. Before I met you, _everyone_ picked on me."

"I know, but Emily, you're a different person now. Wherever you go, whatever you do, you're going to be great. You saved the world. Nothing's hard after that."

"We saved the world," Emily shook her head; "We all did it as a family and for our families. My family is the most precious thing I have and you broke it."

"I'm home now," Mia wrapped her arms tightly around Emily and kissed the side of her head, "I'm home, I'm staying home, and I'm so sorry. I never wanted to hurt you. I was just…"

"Hurt. I know," Emily leaned into Mia with a sigh, "I get it. Just, promise you'll never, ever, do anything like that again. Really promise. Pinky promise?"

Emily held out her pinky and looked Mia right in the eyes. Mia wrapped her pinky around Emily's, nodded, and then got up.

"There's someone you need to meet. Nothing's ever going to make up for what I did, and I'm so sorry I let it happen, but I'm a little happy it did happen."

"Happy?"

Mia took Emily's hand, "It's not what you think. Come inside."

Emily followed Mia into the house and as she took off her jacket she heard Kevin's voice.

"Riley, you need to eat your broccoli. It's healthy, and so good for you. You'll grow big and strong if you eat this."

Mia led Emily into the kitchen. Kevin saw the girls coming in and looked up to say hi before turning back to Riley, hoping to get her to finish her vegetables before they moved on to dessert.

"Mia!" Riley called when she saw Kevin looking up and she assumed Mia was back inside, "I don't like broccoli! Make the meanie…" Riley trailed off nervously when she saw Mia had brought someone home. She ducked behind the chair, peeking out cautiously.

Emily turned to Mia, "I took a plane home, right? Not a time machine? It's 2012?"

Mia chuckled and nodded her head, "After running away I tried to find a place to spend the night. I broke into Riley's home, assuming it was empty. I found her there alone. We still don't know where her parents are and her older brother died. We're taking care of her."

"You have a kid?" Emily asked. "I go to Hawaii and you have a kid?"

"Well, not exactly but… yeah, I guess," Mia chuckled and looked over to Kevin who nodded.

"So… this is awkward," Emily put her hands in her pockets. Mia gave her a hug and looked to Riley.

"Riley, this is my little sister whom I love very, very, very much. Emily, meet Riley."

"She loves me too," Riley whispered. "She told me so."

"Riley's a big fan of the pink Ranger," Mia said to Emily, "Pink is her very favourite of all of them."

Emily looked to Mia and then back to Riley. She saw Kevin was still trying to feed broccoli to the little girl. A little smirk appeared on her lips. She had the perfect way to get back at Mia for abandoning her.

"Broccoli's stupid," she said and Riley looked like she nervously agreed, "I ate all of mine as a kid, and does it look like I grew?"

Riley chuckled and shook her head. She turned to Kevin, "See, broccoli is bad."

"Emy, what are you doing?" Mia asked fearfully. It was already hard enough convincing Riley to eat her fruits and vegetables. She didn't need Emily messing everything up.

"Yellow Ranger vs. pink Ranger duel," Emily said and tagged Riley on the shoulder, "Winner never has to eat vegetables again."

"Emily…"

Riley hopped out of her chair excitedly and ran to the living room to get her toy Spin Sword and her pink Ranger mask.

"What?" Emily gasped, seeing Riley's toys, "That's so cool! I want that!"

"Too bad," Riley giggled and playfully swung her sword at Emily, "Pink Ranger is awesomer than yellow."

"Hey, I'm unarmed!" Emily jumped out of the way of Riley's attack and started running around the house, with Riley right behind her. There were cries and thumps as the two ran all around the house. It was very likely they were running into things. Mia groaned loudly and fell into Riley's seat at the table. She grabbed her head in her hands. Kevin already looked exhausted.

"Why would you introduce Emily to a four year old?"

"I'm so sorry, Kevin," Mia sighed. "I'm obviously not thinking right these days."

Kevin chuckled as he reached out and took Mia's hand, "Maybe they'll wear each other out, and tonight won't be a fight to put either of them to bed."


	4. A Very Different Christmas From Last

Riley woke up in a strange bed and it took her a moment to remember where she was. Her old home was gone, her brother was gone, and her parents weren't around anymore. Everything about her old life was gone.

But it wasn't completely gone. Everyone and everything had left her with the memories; nightmares. She woke up, completely terrified after dreaming the monsters were going to come and get her and finish her off like they did with the rest of the city. Too scared to stay alone in her room, she hugged the pink Samurai bear to her chest and climbed out of bed.

Fear suddenly overwhelmed her and Riley screamed as she ran from her bed into Mia's room. She jumped into Mia's bed and climbed under the blankets, burying herself. Mia and Kevin both groaned as they turned on the lights and looked at the space between them. Riley was trembling and crying.

"Another nightmare?" Mia asked. She pulled down the blankets and pulled Riley up in her arms. This was a usual occurrence for the little girl. At some point in the night she would wake up screaming from a nightmare. Usually Mia got up and went to her room to check up on her. Tonight, it seemed, Riley had come to her.

Riley nodded and hugged Mia, "I want mommy and daddy."

"I know," Mia said, groaning slightly as her tired arms lifted the girl out of bed to carry her back to her room. Riley held on tightly to Mia as she was carried off, but looked to the room, and the bed, sadly over her shoulder. Then she noticed something and straighten up.

"You and Kevin sleep in the same bed? Are you married?"

"Goodnight, Riley," Kevin rolled over to sleep. Riley didn't like him much and so Mia was stuck caring for her most of the time. Kevin wanted to help out and was doing what he could to earn her trust during the day. At night, he liked being able to sleep.

Riley gasped, "You're not married?" she had figured it out and looked to Mia with a shake of her head, "You can't sleep with a boy until after you're married."

"It's complicated, Riley," Mia took the little girl to her bed and set her down to tuck her in. Riley let out a loud sigh and rolled her eyes.

"It's _always_ complicated, Mia."

"You'll understand when you're older."

"No, because when I'm bigger everything's going to be complicated," Riley rolled her eyes again, "Grown ups aren't as smart as kids think they are."

"Do you want some warm milk to help you go back to sleep?"

"Will you stay with me and chase the monsters away?"

"I'll stay here until you fall asleep," Mia gave Riley a kiss on the forehead and then left the room. So Riley wouldn't get scared again she left her door open and the hall light on.

Mia put some milk in a pot and placed it on the stove. While she waited for it to warm, she grabbed the laptop and turned it on. The more the city started to come alive, the longer the lists grew and the faster they were updated. As the page loaded, Mia grabbed her own list, with all the names of Riley's contacts. Many were already scratched off, meaning they were dead, but there were a few still left. Two of which were Riley's parents.

First she checked the list of missing people, hoping she would find Riley's name. When that failed, she turned over to the list of deceased and started crossing off a few more names with a heavy heart. It was sad Riley was losing everyone, but it was also sad because these were people who the Rangers had failed to save. Mia knew she and the team had done their best, and the world would have been worse off if they hadn't of done anything, but it was still a hard pill to swallow, knowing there were still thousands who had no hope whatsoever.

Then she saw it. First it was Riley's father's name, and then her mother's. Both were dead. She crossed their names off the list, feeling tears in her eyes. All the names were now gone. Riley was alone. No one would ever come looking for her. Mia closed the laptop with a heavy heart, poured the warm milk into a mug and carried it upstairs. As Riley drank, Mia told her a story from her time as a Samurai, making sure to keep it light and positive. She told Riley the story of the time she got trapped in a Nighlok's fairy tale world, and how she had been a princess fighting to marry her true love (leaving out the part where her knight in shining armour was Kevin). The story took Riley's mind off the monsters and she fell asleep long before she could finish her warm milk. Mia brought the drink back to the kitchen to put it away and then went back to hers and Kevin's room. Instead of going straight to bed she turned on the light.

"Mia…?" Kevin rolled over and looked at her, seeing she was rummaging through her night table drawer.

"You wouldn't happen to remember how much money I had saved up, would you?"

"No. Mia the stores are closed now anyways… Just come to bed."

"Riley's parents are dead," Mia said as she found her wallet and started counting the bills. Her grandmother had sent over money while she had been a Ranger and Mia hadn't had time to spend it all. She had plenty saved up, but when she counted it and tried to match it to what she had in mind she came up short.

Very short.

Kevin sat up and seemed upset. Understandably so. His relationship with Riley wasn't the strongest, but no matter what she thought of him, he still saw her as a little girl; and innocent little girl; and fate and the Nighlok had screwed her over big time.

"They…"

"I just checked. There's no one out there for her, Kevin. No one but us."

Kevin rubbed his head and sighed. Mia gave him a look as she climbed into bed with him.

"I know you said we would adopt her if this happened, but you weren't serious, were you? I mean, she gave us a pretty long list of people and… there had to be someone who survived. Someone for her. You couldn't have possibly…"

Kevin interrupted her with a sigh, "Mia," he wrapped one arm around her, "I'm ready for it. It's not perfect, but she fell into our laps for a reason and I'm willing to embrace this opportunity. I'm also not blinded by my feelings for her and my maternal instincts. Sleep on it. Take a few days to consider this. We won't tell Riley anything until you know this is the right decision for us."

"Are you serious?"

"I would never kid about something this serious."

"You're seriously considering adopting a kid?"

"I'm not considering it. I've made up my mind. But this is only going to happen if you think you're ready for it. She's only four. If you say yes, there's no backing out for at least fourteen more years."

"What about getting married first and getting settled? Can we even afford a kid right now?"

"I've got a job, and I've got my first day tomorrow," Kevin nodded his head and smiled brightly, "Money's going to start coming in, and if you look for a job we'll be set. We won't be rich, but we'll make it work. At the very least, Riley's going to have a loving home. Isn't that better than sending her to an orphanage where she'll stay there for… who knows how long?"

Mia nodded her head, "I can't do that to her, Kevin. She's been through too much. It'll kill her if we send her away."

"Think about it. Stay home with her tomorrow and keep in mind that if you say yes, that'll be your life for the next fourteen years. At least."

Mia nodded her head and nestled into Kevin's arms. He felt his shirt was starting to get wet and he knew Mia was doing her best not to cry out loud. He gave her a gentle, loving squeeze.

"And I'm going to try to bond a little more with Riley. I promise, everything's going to be okay, Mia."

-Samurai-

Emily was up bright and early that morning. Today was finally the day where she could bring Storm home from the vet and care for her dog herself. She was still a little upset that Storm had gotten hurt, and that it could have been worse for the poor dog, but after meeting Riley and after letting the news of what happen sink in, Emily was also very proud of her dog and her sisters.

That didn't mean she wasn't out for revenge. She had taken Terran from his crib before he started to cry and woke the house, and was playing with him while eating breakfast. At the same time, she was trying to help him say a few more words. Mama was already a part of his vocabulary and Emily couldn't erase that, but Terran hadn't associated dada with James. She was doing what she could to make sure James had to wait a little longer for his son to call his name. He would complain about how it wasn't fair, and Serena would have to hear about it constantly.

"Can you say poopie? Did Terran do a poopie? Poopie!"

James would complain even more if Terran learned the word _poopie_ before _dada_. Emily was halfway through her lesson and certain the word was on the tip of Terran's tongue when she heard a knock on the door. She left the boy on the mat and kept one eye on him as she went to answer it.

Lauren stepped into the house with a sigh, "Your aunt's Christmas crazy."

"Where did you think I got it from?"

Lauren rolled her eyes, "She's got a countdown going. And we got up extra early to buy everyone Christmas presents. I can't take it. All this because some fat guy's going to stop by and break into our house overnight?"

"Fat guy? You mean Santa?"

"Whatever you want to call him. He's not real, is he?"

Emily looked over her shoulder to Terran and then back to Lauren with a smile, "When little ears are listening, yes. But no, he's not real. But everything about him his real."

"What?"

"Aunt Kate still believes in Santa, but not really the fat guy, which is a good thing because I hated the idea of sharing my cookies with him. She believes in the magic he brings. Every year for Christmas families come together. Sometimes from different points in the world. You came all the way from Japan, right?"

"Not for Christmas."

"Christmas is a time for peace and being merry. It's find the people you love and not just thanking them for what's they've done for you and for being in your life, like Thanksgiving, it's about really appreciating everything and everyone you have. You spend time with people."

"So, what does the fat guy have to do with it?"

"Very little," Emily chuckled. "Now Christmas is usually all about presents; giving presents, receiving presents, passing out presents, giving presents to the kids who won't get any. I'm all for the presents, but my favourite memories of Christmas were always spending time with my family. We would always spend the day with Serena. She would always be strong enough to spend most of Christmas day awake. We would have so much fun together and all our troubles would melt away. It really is magic."

"So, it's all about family?"

"Not all," Emily shook her head, "but family is a big part of it. This year, Christmas couldn't have come at a better time. There really will be peace on Earth, for the first time in hundreds of years. The Nighlok are gone, Panorama City is growing again, and people are coming together to help each other out. Even if this is just temporary, isn't it amazing?"

Lauren shrugged her shoulders, "I guess. I've never really been able to get out into the world, though."

"You'll see. Christmas day, you're going to see what all the fuss is about and why it's worth it. But even I get a little overwhelmed by all the excitement sometimes. I'm heading out soon to pick up Storm from the vet. Want to come with me?"

"We won't go to twenty different stores afterwards to pick up gifts for everyone, will we?"

"Apparently, you got all your gifts," Emily shook her head and picked Terran up. She walked him up the stairs and dropped him in Serena and James' bed, waking them up. After telling them where she was going, she joined Lauren by the door and the two stepped out of the house. "So, what did you get me?"

"I'm not telling," Lauren smirked and shook her head, "It's my first Christmas, but that doesn't make me stupid."

"First Christmas?" this wasn't news to Emily, but it was only sinking in now that Lauren had never celebrated Christmas or any other holiday before. She had come after Thanksgiving and with the focus on training each and every day for most of her life, there had been no holidays. Lauren had arrived to the Shiba House a stranger to the word _"relax"._ She had likely celebrated a few holidays as a kid, but it had been so long she could barely remember them.

"One store," Emily begged Lauren, "I promise."

"Emily…"

"It's your first Christmas, and I've got the perfect idea to help you celebrate it in style. One stop, ten minutes max."

"But I'm all Christmased out!"

Emily gave Lauren her puppy face, knowing even the fire Samurai couldn't resist her sweet charm. Lauren groaned loudly.

"Fine!"

"You won't regret it!"


	5. Santa's Red Suit

Lauren shook her head as Emily brought her to a questionable part of town. Emily had promised to only make one Christmas stop before going to pick up Storm from the vet and that the stop would only take about ten minutes. But considering the office was on the other side of town, Lauren was starting to question agreeing to this crazy idea.

"Where are we?"

"You know how Mia and Kevin have Riley until her parents come for her?" Emily asked and Lauren nodded her head, "Well, turns out, a lot of kids got lost during the war. The downside to parental instinct is that, sometimes, to protect your children, you give your own life. That leaves kids without parents."

"Like what my father did," Lauren nodded her head.

"Yeah, like that," Emily whispered. She found the door she was looking for and opened it for Lauren. "After Mia explained Riley to me, and she and I bonded, I started doing a little research myself and I found out that the city wasn't deserted. Hundreds of kids were left behind. Their parents were killed or they were separated from their parents. People are going around the city daily looking for left behinds, and every time they find someone in need, they bring them here."

Emily walked with Lauren down a hall and opened another door. As Lauren stepped into that room she had a look around and she saw a room full of children laughing and running around, playing with each other or playing with some older people who wore a shirt telling Lauren they were working or volunteering at what was now a shelter.

Looking around again, Lauren saw the shelter was decorated for Christmas, just like the Shiba House. There were lights, streamers, reefs, tinsel, and everything that made Christmas, Christmas. In the corner, sitting on a chair, was even what Lauren could only assume was Santa Claus (having never seen him before). He was a fat man dressed in red with a long, white, curly beard, a hat, and there were reindeer figures and little elves hanging around his corner.

"Santa," Emily pointed, confirming Lauren's suspicious.

"He doesn't look creepy."

"Why would Santa be creepy?"

"He breaks into your house at night."

"And he leaves presents," Emily chuckled. "Looks like his visit really cheered up the kids."

"How can one fat man cheer up kids?" Lauren asked. "Em, you said it yourself, these kids lost their parents. When mine died I was devastated."

"Christmas magic," Emily smiled. "When Serena was sick, we used to spend the better part of the year going to the hospital. Around Christmas time, a lot of kids used to look very sad. One day, I asked my dad why. He told me the kids were worried Santa wasn't going to know they were in the hospital and they weren't going to get presents. It broke their sick little hearts."

"I thought Christmas wasn't about presents."

"When you're little, it's all about presents. You grow up and realize there's more than a box and wrapping paper. Anyways, just before Christmas, there always used to be a Santa who would come in, and he would take the time to visit each and every kid. He would listen as they listed off everything they wanted for Christmas. All the kids would cheer up, and knowing Santa was coming with a present for them made them so excited. They had something to wake up to Christmas morning. These kids, some of which were dying, were given the gift of knowing there was someone out there who cared for them."

"Santa?"

"All you need is one person. Santa remembered them. Santa, and his entire team of elves, made them a special present and brought it all the way from the North Pole to their beds. It put a smile on their faces, and it brought families together. A little kid's smile, just think about it for a…"

"Emily?"

"Yeah."

"I know you're excited to see Storm again but…"

"One more stop?"

"Two," Lauren nodded. "We'll have to come back here."

-Samurai-

Jayden was holding his head up with his hand and leaning on the desk as he browsed the internet looking for jobs. The Shiba family had a lot of money and he and Antonio technically didn't have to worry about working, but he wanted to get a job. He wanted to have that normal life.

The only problem was that most careers needed a least a high school diploma. Some asked for more. Even a college degree wasn't enough for many places. Jayden, with his lack of formal education, didn't have a chance in hell of getting a job, even in Panorama City's mass hiring spree. He had no experience, no proof of education, and no qualifications. There was always going to be someone better suited for the job and it frustrated him.

"You can work with me for a while and get a little sales experience. I'll write you a fantastic letter of reference."

"I doubt it'll mean much coming from my fiancé," Jayden shook his head. "Thank you, Antonio, but selling fish is your business. I don't want to intrude. Anyways, I'd like to come home and hear about your day. If we spend all out time together…"

"That might be too much," Antonio nodded his head. "We wouldn't make it to the wedding."

Jayden nodded his head and continued his search on the internet, but found he was no longer looking for a job. He was on a site… he wasn't sure for what. With a look of slight disgust he closed the page and then the laptop. Antonio came over and wrapped his arms around Jayden's shoulders.

"What if you go to school? Take a few classes in the community college once it starts up again. It won't be the greatest but an education of any kind is better than none."

"What other choice do I have?" Jayden said. Antonio gave him a gentle kiss.

"You can use some of your family's money to pay for classes, and I'll be reeling in money for bills and all that fun stuff," he smirked and Jayden rolled his eyes.

"Fishing puns? Moving on from the gold one?"

"We're going to have a great life. Even if you're just a garbage man, I'll still listen while you talk to me about your day and how people still aren't recycling."

"I hope I don't have to be a garbage man," Jayden said, "but I guess you're right. We'll see what happens. And we do have a wedding to plan for."

Jayden opened up the laptop again while Antonio brought a chair around. He took Jayden's hand in his as they started to look at other States or even other countries where getting married was legal.

-Samurai-

Technically, Lauren didn't have a license, but she had driven a Megazord through the city. A car was no big deal.

Her trip to the shelter had inspired her. Christmas was suddenly about so much more than a fat guy in a suit. It was about family, and happiness, and peace, and Lauren wanted to make sure everyone had a reason to be happy not just over the holidays, but for the rest of their lives, and in her eyes, that started with a smile.

So she had dragged Emily to the nearest opened toy store, which had been out of town, thus the need for Lauren to make a car from Symbol Power. Lauren almost bought the entire store as she packed the car with toys and games for kids of all ages. Emily questioned her generosity constantly but Lauren knew what she was doing and she wanted to do it. She and Emily brought all the toys to the shelter and the red and yellow Rangers handed the presents out to each and every child in the center. By the time they were done, it was late in the afternoon, but there wasn't a single child who didn't have a smile on their face.

There wasn't a single person in the shelter who wasn't smiling. Christmas had come early and it had been needed. When Lauren and Emily finally got back into the car and powered down, Emily passed right out.

Lauren started the car and she had one more stop to make. She drove to the vet's and left Emily in the car to nap while she went inside and picked up the dog. Storm seemed back to normal and was bouncing slightly and wagging her tail in sheer excitement when she saw Lauren. The fire Samurai took the dog in her arms (thinking keeping her in a cage was too cruel), and brought her out to the car. She put Storm down on Emily's lap and let the dog wake the yellow Ranger.

"Ew, Lauren, I know you're new, but licking faces is… Storm!" Emily's eyes lit up with glee as she grabbed her dog in her arms and pulled her in for a hug, "You're feeling better?"

"Much," Lauren got into the driver's seat and then looked to the papers the vet had handed her, "There's a few things we have to look out for, but she's got a strong head."

Lauren turned to Emily and Storm and noticed both of them were… excited didn't even begin to describe it. They were so happy together and it was so contagious Lauren couldn't stop herself from smiling even long after she dropped Emily off at home and got back to the Shiba House.

"You've been out all day," Kate said from the common room as Lauren hung up her jacket. Ji was in the dojo cleaning the training equipment. He looked up with a smile on his face.

"Good news travels pretty quickly these days," he gestured to Kate in the common room who was watching TV, "You and Emily visited the shelter."

Lauren nodded her head, "I had a good day."

"We can tell."

"You did a good thing, sweetie," Kate smiled. "You made a lot of people very happy."

"Kate, there's still something we need to do," Lauren leaned against the doorframe to the common room. She looked across the hall at Ji and then back over to Kate, "Every room in this house is decorated but mine."

"I thought you needed a place to get away from the fat man in the red suit."

"I'm starting to believe in magic," Lauren shrugged. Kate had a smile from ear to ear as she jumped off the couch and raced to the closet to get the rest of the Christmas decorations. Ji also got up, ready to help.

"It isn't Christmas without eggnog. You girls get started. I'll be in shortly."


	6. Family Comes Together

The news was never going to be good or easy. From the day they met, Riley and Mia had a unique relationship. No matter what fate had in store for them, it was going to be hard.

Unfortunately, fate believed it was better to take than to give – at least where Riley was concerned. Her brother had died, her cat had died, friends and family were also dead. Even her parents were long gone, having suffered at the hands of Moogers before they could make it to safety or to their kids. Little Riley was all alone in the world and the only good thing to happen to her in the last couple of weeks was that she had run into someone who would take care of her.

Mia had taken a few days to make her decision, but it had been obvious from the start. She refused to send Riley away to an orphanage or to a shelter, and she had already fallen in love with the little girl. She and Kevin had decided they would adopt her, and they had already gotten to work filling out all the forms so they would be recognized as her legal guardians. All they needed to do now where Riley was concerned was tell her of the news.

Storm was feeling better. Everyone still had to be careful with her so she wouldn't get hurt again, but she was up and about, walking around like she already owned her new place. Riley, though she had owned a cat, loved Storm. When she and Mia had been living with Serena, Riley had played quite a bit with Storm. So Mia asked to borrow the dog while she and Kevin broke the news to Riley. She hoped Storm would be of some comfort to the little girl.

Riley was sitting on the couch with Storm on her lap. She was gently stroking the dog, mindful of her head, while she watched TV. Kevin and Mia finally summoned up the courage and turned off the cartoons. Riley started to protest, unaware her new family had some bad news for her.

"Sweetie," Mia insisted she would be the one to talk to Riley. Kevin had offered to do it, preferring he take the hit because Riley was already cold with him, but Mia was convinced this was something she needed to do, "Kevin and I have something we need to tell you. It's very important you listen."

Kevin sat down on the couch beside Riley. He was there for support, but Riley didn't like him and he didn't have Mia's experience with her or even with kids. He watched as Mia broke the news, gently but clearly telling Riley her parents were dead and they couldn't come back for her. Though she had no idea of Riley's home life before the war, she promised the little girl that her parents had loved her very much and they would have come for her if they could. Kevin felt his heart breaking into little pieces as the news sunk into Riley's little head and tears started to form in her eyes.

Death was hard, especially for someone so small. Riley had already claimed she believed her parents were dead and it didn't seem to affect her, but now that it was real Kevin could see her spirit breaking. Even in the tough times, Riley had been a happy little girl. He usually caught her smiling and laughing, and he could see the glee in her eyes when she played either by herself or with Mia. But now that her parents' deaths were real and she knew she would never see them again, all of that joy washed away.

"Riley, sweetheart," Mia touched the little girl's hand, "I know it's scary and I know it hurts. I lost my daddy too. But we're going to…"

"I hate you!" Riley screamed and fell forward, burying her face in Storm's back as she started to scream and cry loudly. Mia knew she didn't mean it. She knew exactly how the little girl felt, but it still hurt to hear. Tears flooded Mia's eyes as she reached out a shaky hand to hold little Riley but she couldn't do it.

"I'm so sorry, pink Ranger," Mia whispered and then got up. Kevin went after her, leaving Riley with Storm knowing there was nothing he could do or say to help the little girl. He found Mia in the kitchen and took her in his arms.

"It's okay. It's going to be okay," Kevin whispered as he held her close, "It's hard, you know it is, but she's going to be okay. We're going to take care of her. She's going to be fine. We're going to be fine."

"This isn't fair, Kevin," Mia shook her head and looked to the living room. Riley's screams were so loud at this point it was impossible for Mia to hear herself think. She clutched on tightly to Kevin and buried her face in his neck. "She doesn't deserve this."

-Samurai-

"Really? Do you have to do that here? I eat at that table," Emily said from the doorway after interrupting what had been about to turn into a make-out session between Serena and James.

"Sorry. We were looking at wedding stuff," James said and turned his attention back to the laptop. Emily rolled her eyes and groaned loudly.

"So much wedding crap. I just got back from Jayden's and Antonio's and they were doing the same thing."

"I thought you were dropping off Storm."

"And then I went to Jayden's and Antonio's," Emily nodded, "They called and asked for my opinion on destinations. I walk in and… yeah."

"Well, not everyone had time for a wedding like you," Serena said with a smirk, "Get used to it, Emy. There's going to be a lot of wedding talk in the near future."

"Weddings?" Mike, who had been watching TV in the living room suddenly jumped up and started checking all his pockets, "I was wearing these pants. I remember. Oh shit, I'm the worst best man in the world if I…. AHA!"

Mike pulled out a ring from his pocket and a smile lit up his face. He turned to Serena, James, and Emily and shrugged, "When Mia and Kevin broke up, neither of them wanted the ring. I knew things would eventually work out, so I kept it."

"You might want to wait a few more days before returning it," Emily whispered and looked down at her shoes. Because she had to give away her precious dog for the day, Kevin and Mia had told her all about what was happening with Riley. The others had no idea.

"Is everything okay?" Mike asked and looked to the ring worriedly, "I thought they were confident. Wouldn't this be what they need…?"

"Riley's parents are dead," Emily said. "Mia and Kevin wanted Storm to be there to comfort Riley when they told her."

"They're…"

Emily nodded her head, "I think it's obvious they want to keep her. Riley's lost her parents. We can't just throw her out to the street."

"I guess that means we've got a new little member in our family," Serena whispered and she looked to her little sister, "When are Kevin and Mia telling her…"

"Probably about now. Why?"

"Riley loves ice-cream. Come with me. We'll go to the store and pick some up. Later, we should all stop by. Riley needs to know everything's going to be okay. Her family's gone. She's got to be feeling very scared and alone."

-Samurai-

Mia and Kevin took some time to compose themselves before returning to Riley to speak with her again. So far, they had only told her about her parent's passing. They hadn't been able to assure her that she would still be taken care of – that she still had a home and people in her life who loved her.

But Riley couldn't be moved and wouldn't listen. Anytime Mia would try to say something to her she would scream. Different words came out of her mouth, but it was all the same: _"I'm not talking until daddy comes home!"_ or _"I want to go home with mommy!" _or, the most heartbreaking of them all _"Bring them back!"_

"I can't, Riley," Mia gently stroked Riley's back, trying to get her to open up, "I'm so sorry, pink Ranger. Mommy and daddy can't come back. But we're going to take care of you. Kevin and I are going to make sure you're going to be okay."

"You're not mommy!" Riley finally came out of her little ball to push Mia away. Mia fell on her butt on the floor while Riley jumped up from the couch. She pushed Storm away, pushed Mia again, and then stormed over to the front door. Crying, she tried to get her boots and jacket on.

"Where are you going?" Kevin asked her. Riley slipped on her boots on the wrong feet and stood up. They felt strange and she couldn't understand why but she made up a reason for it. Her mother wasn't around to make sure the boots fit just right. Now it was all wrong. She dropped to the floor and let out a scream as she ripped off her boots and threw them down the hall.

"I'm going home!" forgetting her winter clothes, she opened the door and stormed outside. Kevin was about to go after her but stopped when he saw a car pull up in the driveway. Riley didn't stop, though. She didn't care. She wanted to go home where she was sure her parents were waiting for her. By now they had to be back.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa," Riley heard and someone grabbed her arm, gently pulling her back, "Where are you going, little girl?"

Riley screamed and kicked the person in the shins in hopes to protect herself, remembering what happened the last time a stranger had touched her. This person didn't give up, and she didn't handle her roughly. Instead, Riley was gently lifted from the ground and hugged warmly, "It's hard, little one. I know."

From the porch, Kevin watched as Noa comforted Riley, and then turned to his parents and Mako as they walked up to the house.

"What are you guys doing here?" he asked them.

"Our son makes the decision to adopt and we're not going to be here to help him transition to parenthood?" Christina took Kevin's hands, "You've thought this through, right?"

"She needs us," Kevin nodded his head and cleared a path for Noa to take Riley back inside. He had no idea how Noa had managed it, but Riley wasn't screaming anymore.

"She'll need a lot. Are you…"

"Positive," Kevin said.

"And with Mia? Son, you aren't even engaged anymore," Patrick put his hand on Kevin's shoulder, "Adding a child to the home causes stress and strain. Do you really think…"

"It's not normal, but Mia and I have talked about it," Kevin nodded his head and gave his father a smile, "This is what we want to do. You're a grandfather now. Congratulations."

"We're here to help," Christina gave Kevin a kiss on the cheek and then walked inside the house. Patrick and Mako were right behind her. Kevin let out a sigh though he did appreciate the help. Just as he was about to head inside another car pulled into the driveway. This time, all the other Rangers came out.

"Guys?"

The Samurai each gave him a smile and then walked to the trunk. It popped open and they started pulling out toys and small pieces of furniture Riley would need for her new room. Kevin and Mia had been looking for a way to turn their spare bedroom into Riley's room, but didn't have enough money to afford everything at once.

"Seriously?"

"It started with ice-cream," Emily lifted a grocery bag to show Kevin, "but we got a little carried away. And we called the others over to help."

"You didn't have to…"

"You all pitched in when Terran was born," Serena shrugged her shoulders as she and Lauren brought over a toy box, "It's what we do."

"But her parents…"

"We're going to help with that too," Antonio promised, "but if she's staying with you, she'll need a room and toys of her own. We've got some stuff waiting at the store. Just give them a call so they know when to deliver."

"How can you guys afford all this?" Kevin asked.

Emily gave him a smile, "You know how the Shibas are loaded."

"Yeah."

"They're a lot more loaded than they let on. Like a lot. A lot, a…"

"That's enough out of you," Jayden covered Emily's hand with her mouth and gave Kevin a smile as he dragged her off, "Ice-cream is melting."

"Our grandkids will never have to work… EEK!" Emily squealed from inside the house. Kevin rolled his eyes and chuckled.

"Riley will be fine," he smiled to himself and closed the door behind him.


	7. Welcome Party

It was the worst day of Riley's life, and she was too stubborn to let anyone help her improve it. Everyone from her new family had come over for a visit to try and cheer her up, but she didn't want anything to do with any of them. She screamed and locked herself in the laundry room. The only thing that would cheer her up was if her parents would come and take her home. She had had a fun time living with the pink Ranger and playing Samurai games, but she wanted to go home.

She curled up in a corner, hugging her Samurai bear to her chest as she cried. Fortunately, the others had decided to leave her alone for now because she didn't want to talk. There had been a few knocks on the door as people came to check up on her, but she wouldn't say anything to them.

Riley wiped her eyes and looked at her bear, "Do you think mommy and daddy are coming home?"

The bear gave Riley a little nod as she moved the head with her own hands and then pulled the bear in for a tight hug, "They will. I'm sure."

"Hey," there was a little knock and the door opened. Riley turned her back and covered her ears with her hands. Her throat was sore from all the screaming so now she would just ignore whoever was talking.

Lauren walked in and sat down beside Riley, "This new family is kind of crazy, huh?"

Riley pretended not to hear anything. Lauren chuckled. She knew this game. Every so often she would get tired of training, especially after injuries. When her mentor would come in to ask her if she was feeling better, she knew the best answer to give was none at all and to act like she hadn't yet come around. Riley was playing a similar game.

"Can you hear me?"

"No," Riley answered with a shake of her head.

Lauren smiled, "I guess I'm talking to myself then. I'm new in this family too, Riley, and it's a little scary at first. I don't have a mommy or daddy to help me either."

"Grown-ups don't need mommy and daddy," Riley spoke to the bear.

"I was a little girl when my mommy died," Lauren said. "I was four."

"I'm four," Riley finally looked up at Lauren.

"A few years later, my daddy died. Someone took me away from my home and I lived all around the world."

Riley nodded her head with a sigh. Her parents were gone and someone had taken her away from her home. She did like Mia, but now that her parents were dead it wasn't the same.

"Are mommy and daddy coming back?"

"No. Mine never did. And they never will," Lauren brought her knees to her chest, "It's a sucky feeling, isn't it? But I wish, when my parents died, I had been as lucky as you."

"Lucky?"

"I didn't have Mia taking care of me. Or anyone like Mia. I went from person to person, and they didn't care about me. Not the way Mia and Kevin care about you. I'm sorry your parents are gone, Riley. It's a painful thing to move past, but you're going to be okay. You have two amazing people who are going to take care of you. This family can get overwhelming at times, but you can't ask for a better adoptive home."

"What?"

"You're in good hands," Lauren chuckled and wrapped her arms around Riley, "If I can grow up and be okay, anyone can. And if you ever need someone to talk to or somewhere to go, you can always come to me."

"Really?"

"Yeah. I guess I'll be your Aunt Lauren. It'll be new for both of us."

"I like you," Riley looked up at Lauren with a smile and nestled into the older woman's arms, "You're really pretty."

"Thanks," Lauren said. She gave the little girl a gentle squeeze and then got up, "I'm going out to join the party now. Want to come?"

Riley stood up and took Lauren's hand, "Can I still miss my mommy and daddy?"

"I still do," Lauren said. "Every day. It's okay."

"Do I have to call Mia and meanie Kevin mommy and daddy?"

"Not if you don't want to."

"Will they make me?"

"No," Lauren knelt so she was eye level with Riley, "You're going to be happy here. Mia and Kevin are going to take very good care of you."

"For how long? Until mommy and daddy come back?"

Lauren sighed, but she remembered asking her father the same questions after her mother had passed. She understood her mother would be gone for a very long time, but as a child she was always convinced that one day her mother would come home. It took her a while to fully understand the permanence of death.

"Mommy and daddy aren't coming back," there was no sense lying to Riley. She would figure it out, and Lauren hated it when people had lied to her. It made it harder to cope when the truth finally did come out. Her parents would never come home. "Mia and Kevin aren't leaving you. They'll look out for you for as long as you need it."

"Forever?"

"Yeah. Forever."

Lauren felt Riley skip slightly and gently squeezed her hand as she brought her around to the living room, where the rest of the family had gathered. They were currently watching Terran as he played around, making everyone laugh by making a silly face every time he touched Mako's noise and she startled him with a sound.

Riley ran off to play with Terran and Mako, now her great-grandmother while Lauren walked over to Kevin and Mia.

"I talked to her."

"You did?" they asked her, looking a little startled. Lauren had been acquainted with Terran and she had even spent a day caring for him, but she had been on her own for so long no one would have blamed her for being shy around Riley or any other kids. They were complicated creatures to handle.

"We're in the same boat," Lauren nodded her head, "I lost my parents when I was little too. It felt good for both of us, I think. Being able to talk about it."

"What about Jayden? You have the same parents…"

"He's always had Ji," Lauren said with a sigh as she looked across the room where Ji and Jayden were having a conversation. They weren't used to being apart, and thought it had only been a couple of days, they had so much to catch up on. "I'm like Riley. My parents died and I got switched someone new. I was a little older than she was when it happened, but I was still scared."

"I guess it helped," Mia smiled as she turned and watched Riley play with her grandmother, thinking it was sweet they were already starting to get along. Mako had been a huge part of Mia's life. She had played a bigger role in it that Noa, Mia's mother, had. She would be a big part of Riley's life as well, so it was important they could get along. It was important Riley liked and trusted her.

"Thanks, Lauren," Kevin gave the fire Samurai a quick hug.

"Just, from one orphaned kid for another, don't sugar-coat her life for her, and don't be too tough on her either. It sucks her family is gone, but she's got to be able to move on. And she'll come around when she's ready. My mentors always used to tell me I had to suck it up. Crying wouldn't get me any closer to the Sealing Symbol and it would only help the Nighlok."

"Can you take her, then?" Mia asked and looked over her shoulder to Kevin for a moment. "I know it's a little premature, and it's not even something I want to consider, but if something happens to Kevin and I…"

"Like… I adopt her?"

"Yeah," Mia nodded. She looked around the room, "Emily and Mike would be great parents. Serena and James already are. Jayden and Antonio, if they want kids, are going to be amazing dads but, if Riley were to lose another set of parents, I think you would be the best thing for her."

"You don't have to answer us right away," Kevin assured Lauren. "We technically haven't even adopted her yet, but would you at least consider it?"

"Am I ready for that?"

"We don't plan on getting hit by a car tomorrow," Mia smirked. "Think about it."

"I'll look out for her," Lauren nodded and she felt a little smile tugging at her lips. She knew it was a big responsibility and she didn't want to give Mia and Kevin a solid answer just yet. She had to consider what it would do to her life, and if she was ready for a kid to suddenly fall into her lap. Though it was likely nothing would happen to Mia and Kevin, if Lauren had learned anything from her life, it was that there was always some kind of danger lurking around the corner. She had spent her whole life avoiding it.

But while the idea of something happening to Mia and Kevin was heartbreaking and unthinkable, Lauren was a little excited and very touched. Riley wasn't their daughter yet, and though they were forming a family it would still be a while before she was truly their daughter. Still, given the way they had taken her in, and the way they were looking out for her already out of nothing but the kindness of their own hearts, she could tell Riley was very important to them, and they were trusting their little girl with her.

"I'll get back to you on adopting her," Lauren said, "but I'll definitely look out for her, no matter what."

Mia gave Lauren a big smile and a hug, thanking her for her help with Riley, and then she walked off. She walked towards the little girl and knelt down beside her.

"Why don't you go show Sobo your pink Ranger mask?"

"Her what?"

Riley's eyes lit up as she raced out of the room to get all her pink Samurai toys. Mia looked to her grandmother with a smile.

"Riley's a huge pink Ranger fan. She knows about me, but no one else."

"Ah," Mako nodded and then reached out and wrapped her arm gently around Mia's shoulders, "So I hear you had a hard time after learning you couldn't have kids."

"Sobo…"

"You know, I'm not proud of what you did to that amazing young man," Mako pointed to Kevin who looked to be in mid-conversation with Mike about something important, as they were tucked away in a corner and avoiding conversations with the others.

"I made a mistake, I know. But I came back. I made amends with the people I really hurt. Kevin and I are giving our relationship another shot, and I think we'll be okay."

"You're adopting a kid together. You better be."

"I guess there is no bigger commitment," Mia nodded and smiled. Then she turned to her grandmother and the smile fell from her face, "I'm sorry I disappointed you."

"It was bad news. Horrible news," Mako said. "It has always been your dream to have that perfect life. I can understand why it hurt so much. But if you ever do anything stupid like flying away to live with that brother of yours, I will be on the next flight and I will drag you home kicking and screaming and you will make things right. No granddaughter of mine is ever going to abandon her responsibilities and her commitments. Am I understood?"

"Loud and clear," Mia nodded.

Mako gave Mia a loving squeeze and then she let go as Riley raced back in the room with her Samurai bear, mask, and toy Spin Sword. She dropped them at Mako's feet and started telling her all she knew about the pink Ranger while Mako listened and acted like this was all new to her.

"A fan? The pink Ranger's weapon is a fan? Is it dangerous?"

"Very!" Riley said excitedly.

Mia watched with a smile. Noa approached her daughter.

"I guess I'm a grandmother now."

"Sobo's taken," Mia smirked. "She's still around and she's got dibs on the name. It'll confuse Riley too much if we've both got different names for her."

"Grandma Noa is fine by me," Noa said and then she felt a chill. "Grandma… wow. I knew the day would come but I never thought it would be this soon. Now I know how Ellie and Jack feel."

"To be fair, Serena is older."

"Not by much," Noa shook her head, "Any wine in this house?"

"Mom…"

"I'm not going to get drunk. It's just easier to transition from mom to grandma Noa if there's a little alcohol involved. It takes off the edge. Christina, Patrick, you didn't happen to bring over any… perfect!"

Mia groaned as her mother and Kevin's parents went to the kitchen to grab a glass of wine. Serena came over to Mia, chuckling slightly.

"I'd be careful. Emily and I were both born because of alcohol. You may be getting a daughter and a sister in-law all in one year."

"The transition to grandparenthood," Mia sighed.

"Wine's better than running off," Serena shrugged and then gave Mia a gentle nudge in the ribs, "James and I were going to take Terran to see Santa tomorrow. You and Kevin should come with Riley. It might cheer her up a little."

"Yeah, it might. She can tell some fat stranger all about how she lives in a new house now."

Serena chuckled, "We'll head out just before lunch. We can pick you up."

Mia smiled and agreed and went back to what had turned into a party with the Samurai and her family. Riley was having fun, and the more she played with Terran and Sobo, the more it looked like she fit right into the family.

But as the night wore on, the party started to die down. First, Serena and James needed to leave to put Terran to bed, and considering Mike and Emily didn't have their own car or house, they had to leave as well. Jayden and Antonio were getting up early the next morning to run a few errands and so they didn't want to stay out late. Finally, Ji, Kate, and Lauren had to take off. Riley had long since been put to bed, so it was just Mia, Kevin, and their parents seeing them off.

"Either way, thanks for considering Riley," Kevin said as he hugged Lauren goodbye, "the earlier we can figure this out, the easier it will be for her especially."

"I'll let you know as soon as I do," Lauren's smile went from ear to ear. It was a scary and big decision to make, but one that still made her very happy and she was very honoured. As she walked to the car with Kate and Ji, she couldn't wipe the smile from her face.

"I swear I had the keys in my pocket," Ji muttered as he pat himself down in search of his missing car keys. Kate simply rolled her eyes.

"You can borrow mine," she tossed them over to her boyfriend and climbed into the passenger side.

"But where are mine?" Ji asked and he started to look around in the dark. Kate and Lauren both groaned.

"You can find it later, we're both tired. You probably just left them inside," Kate said, "It's no big deal."

"I'll just…"

"Riley's asleep. Don't ring the bell, you'll wake her."

"Let's just go," Lauren said. Ji sighed. He had likely just set his keys down somewhere in Mia and Kevin's house and forgot where. Knowing the keys would be safe for a night; he got in and started the car with Kate's set. They were halfway down the road when Lauren's Samuraizer went off.

"Mike, it's not a party trick. We may not be Rangers anymore but Symbol Power is still… what? Riley what?"

"She's not in bed," Mia's voice was frantic on the other end as Lauren could tell she was speaking on the phone and tearing the room apart to look for the little girl. "Not again, not again…"

"Mia, calm down…"

"Calm down! She's not even my daughter yet and I've lost her twice! I've checked there!"

"What?"

"Sorry. I'll call the others, but I need to ask you a huge favour as possible future godmother of my future pain in the butt daughter!"

"What's going on?" Kate asked. She and Ji could hear Mia's frantic voice from the front of the car.

"Anything," Lauren answered Mia and held up a finger to tell Ji and Kate to wait a moment for their answer.

"Help me find my kid."

"Keep looking around the house," Lauren said, "She might still be right under your nose. She knows she'll be okay, she has no reason to run off."

"One guy kidnapped her to try and sell her back!" Mia cried. "What if someone took her?"

"Calm down. No one's taking her from her bed. We were all at the house. Speaking of which, where did she used to live? I think I know where she might be.

"Maremma Boulevard," Mia answered. "1593 Maremma Boulevard."

"If she's not at home, I'll find her. Just don't freak out," Lauren said before hanging up and she explained everything to Ji and Kate who turned the car around. Lauren looked out the window for the house and bit her nails. She could remembering wanting and trying to run back home after she had been taken from the Shiba House. If Riley would leave, Lauren was certain she would go home.


	8. Runaway Riley

Mia was pacing nervously in the front hall. Kevin and Patrick were out in the yard, checking everywhere for Riley while Noa and Mako searched the house endlessly. It was another true nightmare for Mia as she bit her nails to the bone and was on and off the phone with her friends. They were all searching the city and very desperate to find Riley before something happened to her. It had already been made known that there was a group of punks kidnapping kids for profit. Mia and Serena had rescued Riley from one already. Another time, and whoever had the misfortune of taking a Samurai baby wouldn't live to see Christmas.

Her Samuraizer was only for if someone found Riley, while Mia used her cell phone to keep in touch with her friends, taking and making calls to communicate different ideas of where Riley could have gone. Unfortunately, though Mia was getting to know Riley quite well, they were still strangers in a sense. They hadn't known each other long enough for Mia to have that maternal sense of where her daughter was and what she was up to. No one knew Riley enough to figure out what was going on in her head, and that made this little stunt even more dangerous. The city was big and little Riley was, well, little.

Suddenly, Mia raced up to the bedroom. This had to be a nightmare. She was sure she would find Riley asleep in her bed. It would humiliate her to have caused such a panic, but at least it would mean Riley had been safe and sound the whole time.

Unfortunately, Mia tore the bed apart and there was still no Riley.

-Samurai-

Ji stopped the car at Riley's old house and while he and Kate went to search around the outside of the house and the neighbouring homes, Lauren went inside.

The house was dark but she tried the light switch and she was relieved to see power had been restored to this part of the city. Not many people from this neighbourhood had returned, likely because it had seen the worst of the Sanzu flooding. Lauren's Symbol Power had restored everything after the war, but it was almost certain people wouldn't want to come back after two years of living in terror.

Lauren searched through the rooms, calling for Riley's name and checking in all the spots she could think of. The little girl was nowhere to be found. Lauren was now starting to panic inside, but she kept calm on the outside. For Riley's sake, she had to keep herself calm and her head clear.

"Where would I have hidden?" Lauren asked as she climbed the stairs. She checked what looked to be Riley's room but it was empty. Then she checked what she could only assume was a teenage boy's room, and finally the master bedroom.

There were still no signs of Riley.

"Pink's just a lighter shade of red," Lauren said as she morphed. Riley had a love for the pink Ranger and she already knew Mia's secret and had kept it well. If the red Ranger could draw Riley out of hiding it was worth the compromised identity. Nothing more needed to happen to one little girl. Enough was enough.

"Riley? Mia sent me! The pink Ranger's looking for you! Come out, come out, wherever you are."

Lauren walked back to Riley's bedroom and decided to look through her drawers. It was obvious now that Riley wasn't in the house and thought maybe something she owned would give her a clue. She found a colouring book filled with pictures of the Samurai Rangers, but only Mia was coloured in properly. The rest were half-heartedly filled with colours, and sometimes they weren't even the right ones. On a few occasions, Emily had been coloured pink.

"If you weren't so small and cute, this would be creepy," Lauren muttered and continued to flip through the pages. "Wow, either you never had any blue crayons, or you've always hated Kevin."

Lauren put the book back in the desk drawer and opened her toy box. Lauren hadn't been able to experience childhood, but she had been a kid. She knew what they wanted and how they thought. If anything, her lack of childhood made her remember it even more. She remembered longing to play with the other kids, to play with toys, and how she would make up stories and even imaginary friends to live out those dreams when her mentors weren't looking. Toys and games said a lot about children, and Lauren was hoping she could find something that would help her search.

"More pink Ranger crap. I don't think stalkers collect this much stuff," Lauren said and pulled out the toys one at a time. She sorted them into piles of different interests and hoped she could make a connection.

One thing was sure, though. There was a lot of pink.

-Samurai-

While Emily checked around the lake and the playground, Mike searched the other side of the park which was mostly open space. If his childhood had taught him anything it was that kids could hide anywhere. Even in plain sight. He hid from his mother so many times and had always given her mini heart attacks when he jumped out from right behind her. Riley could be anywhere.

He searched behind and under benches and checked the ground for clues. It was possible Riley wasn't in the park, but she had come through. At this point, Mike was looking for anything.

"It's getting cold out," he heard a voice from right behind him and jumped slightly, startled.

"Em, don't do that, you scared me."

"Sorry," Emily whispered and looked up at the sky, "It's dark and it's cold. Mia said her jacket and boots were still at home. If she's outside she's probably freezing!"

"She'll be fine," Mike tried to assure his wife, but it had come to mind for him too. Emily shook her head.

"This time last year, I was freezing myself, remember? I was seventeen years old and so traumatized by fire and getting too hot that I almost froze to death and drowned in a bathtub."

Mike nodded his head. It had been one of the most horrible moments of his life. After being rescued from a burning shack, Emily had developed a fear of fire and refused to let herself get too warm. To prevent that, she froze herself. It was winter and the temperature had dropped, and Emily would walk around and sleep in the same clothes she would wear on the hottest days of summer. At night, she used a fan to blow air to cool her down. Instead of taking warm showers, the water would be almost frozen, and Emily regularly left the house with nothing more than a simple sweater. The Samurai tried to help, but almost missed their chance. Mike needed to go to the bathroom and was horrified to discover Emily underwater in the tub.

"That's different. We fought danger every day. You almost died. It was post-traumatic stress. Riley…"

"Survived a war that's been going on for half her life," Emily pointed out. "She's only four. For as long as she can remember, her home's been in danger every single day. Just recently she watched her brother and her cat die and she was told her parents are also dead and never coming home for her. If I almost drown myself at seventeen because I can't handle it, imagine what war would do to a four year old."

"She's not going to try to hurt herself."

"You don't know what she's going to do! We don't know where she is or why she took off in the first place! She's just a kid, Mike!"

"Emily…"

Emily shook her head and dropped to the ground to sit. She picked up a nearby rock and tossed it as far as she could.

"She's lived through war, her brother died in front of her and her parents are gone, she was taken in by a stranger, she was kidnapped, and now she has to get used to all this crap. All our crap."

"We're good people. We're going to take care of her."

"That's a lot, Mike. She's four years old."

Mike smiled as he sat down beside Emily and gave her a light kiss, "You're just her aunt and you're this crazy worried about whether she'll be okay or not. Imagine what Mia and Kevin are thinking, and how determined they are to give her a better life."

"Her life was fine before we screwed it up."

"We?"

Emily nodded her head, "This time last year the park was decorated for Christmas. This time last year, in spite of everything the city had been facing for over a year, everyone was still excited for the holidays. Now look. There's no one around."

"It's midnight, Em. Everyone's probably sleeping."

"This city's a ghost town," Emily shook her head. "I shouldn't have taken Lauren to that shelter."

"You did a good thing. Those kids, those people, they needed…"

"They all lost someone," Emily growled and she got up, "I get it. We saved the world. No one has to worry about the Nighlok. But what about the people who didn't make it? You know just as well as I do Panorama city's population fell below half in that one war."

"We can't save everyone, Emily," Mike got up as well and tried to take her hand, "but it's thanks to us that Riley, those kids and those people at the shelter, and all the people who have come home or who have moved away still have a chance. We saved them too."

"But the others are dead. That's because of us too."

"Emily…"

"I want to move back home," Emily looked up at Mike sadly, "I can't live here in this ghost town anymore. At least at home, no one died because of us. I want to go home, Mike."

Mike took Emily in his arms and hugged her tight. She wasn't built for all this pressure. She hadn't been born to be a hero; she had been forced to turn into one. All through her time as a Ranger she had struggled with the weight of the world on her shoulders and sometimes it had been too much for her. Unfortunately, with all the glory of being a hero came all the responsibilities. Though the Rangers were anonymous and therefore Emily would never be blamed for those who had died, Emily knew the role she played and that was more than enough for her. She was more than capable of completely destroying herself.

And keeping her trapped in the city that had almost been completely destroyed wouldn't do anything to help her. Panorama city had been a battlefield for her from the moment she arrived. She had come from out of town, never having left her hometown until the day she had been called into action by Ji.

"Okay," Mike nodded his head, "Go home. See your parents. But come back, okay?"

"I will."

"Can we find Riley first? Riley, and then we tell the others…"

"They'll try to talk me out of it."

"They won't say a word. They'll support you," Mike said. "You need this. You need to see just how much we did save. I'll stay here. Keep an eye on Storm so Serena doesn't send her to the hospital or kill her."

"Scruffy…"

"It's going to be okay," Mike gave Emily a comforting squeeze and then pulled away from her, "but Riley first. That kid needs us before anything else. If I were a four year old girl, where would I hide?"

"Ice-cream."

"Em, I know you're upset but…"

"Riley loves ice-cream about as much as I do. She's not here and the parlour's just down the street. We might as well."

"It's closed."

"She's four."

"Let's go," Mike took Emily's hand as they started for the ice-cream shop. He looked over his shoulder at her as she walked slowly, both because she was upset and because she was looking for last minute signs of Riley, "If it helps," he told her, "I am proud of you. You're still my hero."

"Thanks," Emily whispered back.

-Samurai-

Lauren flipped the toy box upside down and sighed. All signs pointed to Mia. Aside from a few dolls, games, and toys, everything was pink Ranger related. Without any sign of where she was or could be in the house, Lauren decided to give up and search somewhere else. She walked down the stairs and to the door, locking it behind her so Riley couldn't sneak in and hide there after Lauren gave up on it.

She walked to the car to wait for Kate and Ji, who by now had decided to search the entire neighbourhood. Kate was holding onto the car keys and Ji had lost his, so Lauren leaned against the car and waited in the cold for them to return.

Then she heard a scream and a thump coming from the back of the car. Her heart stopped as she raced to the trunk.

"MOMMY!" it was muffled but loud. It was Riley.

"How did you… what did… how?" Lauren asked as she rattled her brain to figure something out. "Riley? Riley, are you in the trunk?"

"Mommy! Help!"

"Riley?" Lauren let out a groan as she ran to the driver's door and smashed the window after a few unsuccessful attempts. She unlocked the car, ignoring the pain in hand, and then opened the trunk with a push of a button. After that, she ran to the back of the car and opened the trunk. Riley sprung out and clung on tightly to Lauren.

"What the hell?" Lauren asked but she hugged the little girl tightly. "Who put you in the trunk?"

Her question was answered though when she saw Ji's keys sitting by a blanket Lauren had seen in Mia and Kevin's house.

"Riley, cars aren't toys."

"I wanted to go home with you," Riley said between sobs. "I woke up and missed my mommy and daddy. You said I could come over."

"Why would you lock yourself in the trunk?"

"So you wouldn't forget to taked me home. I bringed a blanket and a pillow and my Mia bear."

Riley pointed to the little bed she had made herself in the trunk, "Like a sleepover."

Lauren nodded her head. She didn't know what to say. She opened the rest of the car doors and set Riley down in the backseat. Then she sat beside her and pulled out her Samuraizer.

"You scared us, Riles," Lauren said and called Mia first. Riley's adoptive parents were worried sick and deserved to know.


	9. Tough Times

The minutes between Lauren's phone call and Riley coming home felt like forever as Mia and Kevin waited on the couch. With Lauren, they trusted Riley was safe, but each minute felt like an hour, and the whole time they waited they feared something had happened on the way. It was only natural for them to worry. They had been doing so for two years. Kevin was paranoid that a Nighlok would know about Riley and take her, despite knowing all the Nighlok were gone.

But the doorbell did ring and the worried parents jumped off the couch and took their little girl in their arms. Noa and Mako exchanged looks with Christina and Patrick. They all knew the worried parent feeling well and no more would they doubt their kids were parents. Noa took another sip of wine. She knew it was true, but that didn't make it believable.

Meanwhile, at the door, Mia was on her knees sobbing as she hugged Riley and Kevin looked like he wasn't far from it either as he thanked Ji, Kate, and especially Lauren for finding Riley and bringing her back. Riley didn't understand all the fuss and was trying to pull away from Mia. She had never been in danger except for when she woke up from her nightmare and hit her head on the roof of the trunk. She still had a bit of a headache.

Lauren explained everything to Mia and Kevin. How she had told Riley they would talk whenever and if ever Riley needed someone to talk to, and how Riley had misunderstood that as being allowed to leave the house without telling Mia and Kevin. Lauren felt a tremendous amount of guilt for the miscommunication, but Kevin assured her it wasn't her fault. Kids had a habit of getting into and causing trouble. He and Mia were just happy Riley was safe.

"Why would you even climb in the trunk?" Mia asked Riley as she inspected her head. Riley had a bit of a bump, but nothing serious. She hugged the girl tightly. "How did you get in the trunk?"

"Peter teached me once," Riley said. "It's hard, but if you push really hard you can squeeze in."

"She took my keys from my pocket," Ji tapped the side of his coat to make sure he had his keys. "And scared the life out of all of us the moment she did."

"Don't you ever do something like that again," Mia wasn't sure Riley understood just how serious her actions were. Riley just groaned and rolled her eyes.

"I was only in the car."

"But I didn't know where you were," Mia said. "You need to tell me or Kevin when you leave the house."

"Why? You're not my mommy."

Lauren put her left hand on Riley's shoulder and knelt down, "But they are taking care of you. And they can't do that if they don't know where you are. You can come visit me anytime, as long as you tell Mia and Kevin."

"Go upstairs," Mia stood up and pointed to the stairs. "Go to bed. I'll tuck you in soon."

"No sleepover?"

"Not tonight," Kevin shook his head. "Maybe next time; when you ask us first."

Riley groaned loudly again and dragged her feet as she climbed up the stairs. Mako followed her up, just to be sure the little girl wouldn't pull another runner. It had been unintentional chaos. Kids never planned on trouble, it always just happened. Mako had many tales of times Noa and Mia had given her little heart attacks when she thought they were hurt, in danger, or missing. It was part of parenthood. You weren't a parent if you didn't worry for your child. The Samurai knew better than anyone how dangerous the world was.

"We should go," Kate said and looked down at Lauren's hand. The fire Samurai had been brave at hiding the pain, but it was obvious there was something wrong with her hand, and given the fact that Ji's car was missing a window, Kate could only assume what had happened. "We may need to make a stop at the emergency room."

"Here," Patrick came out of the kitchen with ice wrapped in a dish towel. Lauren took it, thanked him, and placed it on her hand.

"What happened to you?" Lauren turned around, hearing Mike's voice. Mike, Emily, Jayden, and Antonio had all arrived after hearing Riley had been found and they wanted to check in to be sure. They had also gotten scared for the little girl and would only sleep easy once they knew Riley was in her bed.

"Punched a window," Lauren answered. Mia nodded her head. She had done the same for Riley, only she had been luckier than Lauren that night.

"My hand still hurts."

"Is it broken?" in brother mode, Jayden worriedly and gently took Lauren's hand to inspect it, "Why aren't you at the hospital?"

"I'm fine," Lauren assured him. Jayden shook his head.

"We're going to the hospital. Lauren…"

"Jayden."

"Lauren…"

"Jayden."

Jayden gave his sister a look, "Stop that."

"You worry."

"You're my sister."

Lauren rolled her eyes, "Older."

"Still," Jayden said and gently took Lauren's arm to guide her out. He was stopped when Mike put a hand on his chest.

"Actually, dude, can it wait two seconds? Emily's saying goodbye."

"What?" all eyes turned to the yellow Ranger who shrunk away behind Mike. After getting so upset over Mia leaving, Emily felt like a hypocrite for turning her back on the city and her friends, but she couldn't stay. It wasn't forever, but she had to get out of Panorama City and go home.

"It's fine," Mike assured everyone, "She's not going for too long. She just needs to get away."

"You were just on vacation," Kevin frowned. "In Hawaii. How much more time away do you…?"

"Everywhere I look I see… Nighlok. They attacked this very neighbourhood once, remember?"

"You'll get over that, sweetie," Noa came around and looked at Emily with a smile, "It's hard, but…"

"The day I came here, the minute I got into this city, I was fighting a battle. That's all this place was to me. Now people are dead or hurt or… I just wanna get away for a bit."

"Christmas is in less than a week, Emily," Mia said. "Are you sure?"

"If I don't come home by then, I'll call. I promise."

"It's Terran's first Christmas," Antonio said, "Don't you want to spend it with him? You don't want him running around Christmas morning asking where his _Memy_ is, do you?"

"Mike…" Emily turned to her husband and Mike gave her a nod.

"You guys don't make the decision. She will be back. It's just a few days or a couple of weeks or something," Mike looked at Emily. It was her turn to give him a nod. Mike smiled, "She'll be home before we know it. And she'll be Emily."

"I don't think I can be happy now that I know this city is filled with… dead people."

"It won't be Christmas without you," Antonio said as he gave Emily a hug, "but we'll have plenty of Christmases together. Just feel better, got it?"

Emily smiled and returned the hug before moving on to the others. They wished her similar goodbyes before Mike and Emily were on their way, saying they still needed to talk to Serena and James.

After the goodbyes, Jayden hurried Lauren to his and Antonio's car, insisting her take her to the hospital to get her hand looked at. As the guests left, for a second time that night, Kevin and Mia closed the door. Kevin let out a heavy sigh while Mia raced upstairs to check on Riley, panicked she would be reliving the night over and over again.

Kevin looked to his parents and Noa and shook his head, "Parenthood is hell."

"Welcome, son," Patrick gave Kevin a pat on the back, "Welcome."

Upstairs, Mia walked into Riley's room and nearly burst into tears again when she saw the little girl already sound asleep in bed, with Mako tucking her in.

"Apparently, riding around all night in a trunk is very tiring," Mako teased. "This little one couldn't even make it through one story."

"Please tell me it gets easier," Mia breathed as she sat on the side of Riley's bed and looked at her. Mako let out a soft laugh.

"Harder. But you can do it. You'll be a great mother, princess; to this little girl, and to any others who are fortunate enough to fall into your hands."

"Maybe I'll do like you and raise one at a time," Mia said with a small smile before she lay down beside Riley, "I can't leave her tonight."

"I understand," Mako nodded. She started for the door and turned off the lights, "Goodnight. Enjoy the sleep while you can."


	10. Real Heroes

Emily was getting her bags packed. She wanted to leave the house right after she ate breakfast. The faster she could get away from the city, the sooner she could put the nightmares of the Nighlok behind her.

She knew what she had done. She had saved the world. She and her friends had defeated Nighlok after Nighlok, sparing many people within the city as well as all around the world a lifetime of misery and doom. She was a hero, and people loved and respected her and they were thankful for her. And they had every right to be. She had saved their lives and the lives of their families.

But it had occurred to her that she hadn't saved everyone. During her time as a Ranger, so many people had died – and not just in the final battle. Sometimes, the Nighlok were too tough for the Rangers. Sometimes, the Rangers were just a little too late. Panorama's population had fallen below half in the final battle alone, but within the two years since Emily had arrived, the fall had been a lot farther than that. It was impossible to go anywhere or meet anyone who hadn't lost someone to the Nighlok. Even the Rangers had suffered losses. Jayden and Lauren's father passed years ago trying to seal Xandred away to buy Lauren time to train, Mia's father had been killed by Dayu, and Scruffy had also had the misfortune of dying at the hands of the Nighlok. Death was on her hands. If Emily was going to take the glory for saving the city, she also had to accept the fact that people were dead because of her.

"Mike told me," Serena said as she walked into Emily's room. Emily was just finishing with her bags, taking what was necessary but leaving something behind, knowing she would come back. Serena, Mike, and all her friends were choosing to stay in the city and Emily couldn't leave them forever. She planned on coming back – she just needed to get away.

"I don't know if I'll be home for Christmas," Emily whispered as she got up and walked to her closet. She pulled out the footstool and reached up high to the top shelf. There, she grabbed a present and offered it to Serena, "It's for Terran. From his Auntie Memy."

"Do you want to talk about it?" Serena took the gift but kept her eyes on her sister, "I know how you're feeling, Em. I get it. I just think it's best if we all stick together. If we figure this out together."

"The people who owned this house before died in the final battle."

"A lot of people did, Emily. It's just a fact. We can't avoid it. We can't save everyone. We fight the greater good and we won. No one else has to die trying to escape the Nighlok."

"But what about the little things? The things like Riley? Those little things are the world to her. Because we can't save everyone, she doesn't have parents anymore. Her mom, her dad, her brother, and her cat are all dead because we can't worry about the small things."

"She's going to be okay, though, Emily. You of all people should know how amazing a mom Mia's going to be. I think she'll be better than me."

"I can't stay," Emily shook her head. "Panorama City just feels dead to me. I have to go home. Please, Serena, don't make this complicated."

"Fine," Serena sighed and pulled her sister in for a hug, "Call anytime, especially if you're not home for Christmas. And feel better, alright, squirt?"

Emily nodded and grabbed her bag, "I'm taking the bus up and it's leaving soon. I need to get going."

"There's breakfast to go on the counter," Serena said as Emily walked out of the room. Serena let out a sigh and fell back into the bed. Now she remembered another reason she never wanted Emily to be a Samurai Ranger. A part of her always believed Emily wasn't built for it. She had done amazingly – better than Serena would have had she not gotten sick, but now it was time for the hard part: picking up the pieces. Emily would always blame herself for what had happened.

-Samurai-

Ji wasn't sure what he was doing for Christmas this year. Of course all the Samurai would be coming to the Shiba House and he already had stacks of presents under the tree for them. But there was one person he was missing.

For the first time in his life, Ji had a girlfriend. More than that, he had a girlfriend over the holidays. Like the other Samurai, his lifestyle kept him from experience some of the more normal sides of life. As Jayden's mentor, he had given his entire life to the young man, and before that, he had been mentor to Jayden's father and his team, and before that he had spent so much time focusing on becoming a mentor. Dating just wasn't in the cards for him back then.

But that was different now. He had been with Kate since the summer, and now that Christmas was coming he wanted to get her a special gift.

Only he had no idea what he could get her for Christmas. He couldn't think of everything and it drove him crazy. He kept looking around for hints and clues that she would drop, but if she was dropping any, he couldn't get them.

To make matters worse, she already had a gift for him that she was more than excited about – insisting he was going to love it. It was wrapped and under the tree, and Ji had no idea what it was.

"Daydreaming?" a voice startled him out of his thoughts and he jumped a foot in the air. Lauren had caught him staring at the tree and managed to sneak up behind him.

"You're home?" Ji asked. After getting her hand checked out at the hospital and having the doctors confirm it was broken, Lauren had to wear a cast to keep it immobilize. Worried as always, Jayden insisted Lauren spend her first night with the cast with him and Antonio so they could look after her. To shut her little brother up, she did what he wanted, but now that the night was done, Lauren was happy to be home.

"I just got out of the other cast a few weeks ago," Lauren sighed as she looked to her left arm, which had healed after she broke it in the war, and then she looked to her right hand, which would now be in a cast for the next few weeks. "Panorama City hasn't been nice to my bones."

"Apparently not," Ji said and continued to look at the tree. Lauren smirked and nudged him.

"I noticed a bald spot."

"Where?" Ji grabbed the top of his head and Lauren laughed. She shook her head.

"On the tree. Or rather, under. There's a gift from you to everyone but Kate. Stuck?"

"Any suggestions?"

"I've never had a girlfriend. Sorry."

"It was worth a shot, I guess," Ji went to the door and grabbed his coat, "I will be at the mall having a look around. Perhaps I'll find an idea. Want to join?"

"I'm going for a nap," Lauren shook her head, "I didn't get much sleep last night. Jayden kept asking if I needed something."

"Do you need anything?"

"No," Lauren answered with a sigh, "I know what I'm doing. It's not the first break in my hand. I'll be fine. Just go find Kate something. And make sure it's nice!"

"I will, I will," Ji nodded and walked out. When he was on the porch and the door was closed he sighed, "I've still got no idea…"

-Samurai-

Emily sat on the bus by herself and leaned against the window. It was a long drive back home, but she would make it before dinner. She had called her parents before leaving and explained everything to them. They would be waiting in town to pick her up once she got off the bus.

"My favourite colour's blue," the man who sat beside her stated and Emily turned away from the window to look at him.

"Excuse me?"

"I saw your luggage when we boarded the bus. It's obvious you like yellow. I like blue. Where you headed?"

"Home," Emily whispered. She didn't feel much like talking, and had overheard her neighbour chatting up the rest of the people on the bus. They had all found a way to turn him down and now he was Emily's problem.

"Leaving Panorama too? I've only just finally been able to pay for this trip out. Those damn monsters took everything I had."

"Yeah."

"You too? Man, the place was a bloodbath for a while, wasn't it? I mean, if the red water wasn't killing people, those creepy fish faced monsters were. I saw it all on the news. Not with my own eyes. I spent all my time hiding in the basement. Once all monsters were gone, I thought I would get a little help."

"There was no one left in the city," Emily said with a shrug of her shoulders.

"What about the Samurai Rangers? They save the day and they think they're off the hook. What about all the people in need?"

"The Rangers looked pretty beat up to me," Emily answered him. "They probably needed help to."

"They're suits protect them from getting hurt," the man shook his head. "Besides, I've been following the hospital reports. No one who came in had any signs of being a Ranger. The injuries weren't consistent enough with all injuries the Rangers would have had. A couple of people came close, but turns out they were just good people."

"Good people?"

"They threw themselves in harm's way to protect others. Apparently, while the Rangers were off fighting monsters or celebrating their victories, other people were doing their jobs in the city. There were monsters everywhere. One guy took a sword through his chest to save a family of people he had never met before. Do you know where the Rangers were at that time?"

"A man took a sword in the chest?"

"The Rangers were nowhere to be found. Probably hiding out somewhere, waiting to make a big entrance so it would be more dramatic. That's the problem with superheroes. It all goes to their heads. They're more about being big and less about the little things."

"But… but the yellow and red Rangers gave all those toys to the shelter…"

"They gave toys to kids whose parents are dead," the man shrugged his shoulders. "I guess it's a start, but if the Rangers had done their jobs in the first place, those kids would have toys and their parents for Christmas. It's a pathetic attempt to make things right again."

Emily crossed her arms and leaned back into her seat as she turned to the window.

"I'm getting the impression you're a fan," the man told her. "Look, kid, I'm not trying to burst you bubble. The Rangers did do some things right. But at the end of the day, there are still so many people out there suffering. If those Rangers really are super, they would still be out there trying to help."

Finally the bus came to a stop and the man stood up, "This is my stop. Don't be fooled by the colours or the costumes. At the end of the day, the Rangers are just cowards. They don't give a damn about us. The minute the monsters disappear, they take off too. They were just in it for the glory. There are real heroes out there. Who knows, someone in this bus could be a hero."

Emily turned away from the man as he walked off the bus. She hugged her knees to her chest. She knew the Samurai had fans, and she also knew there were people who weren't big supporters of the Rangers. They did cause a few problems for the city. They cost Panorama millions in repairs. They destroyed buildings, and it was true, once the Nighlok were gone, they disappeared. Emily knew why. The Ranger suits were good, but unlike what the man had said, they didn't protect the Rangers from everything. If only he had seen all the scars that were hidden by her clothes. If only he had any idea how much she and her friends had suffered, and how much they had lost.

But he was right. At the end of the day, the city they saved was still suffering and Emily had that thought trapped in her head for the rest of the trip. She almost missed her stop when it came around, but seeing as she was the only person left on the bus, and this was as far as the route went, the bus driver got her attention and helped her off the bus. She met up with her parents a little ways off. Her father took her bags and her mother took her in her arms.

"It's not easy moving on," she said. "Take all the time you need."

"I just want to go home," Emily whispered. Her mother nodded and her parents walked with her to the truck. Emily sat in the back and stared out the window.

"_If those Rangers really are super, they would still be out there trying to help."_

"Emily," her mother called and handed her a cell phone, "It's Mike. He wants to know how the bus ride was."

Emily took the phone with a sigh, "Hey Mike…"


	11. Santa's Lap And Secret Stories

In spite of all the chaos from the night before, with Riley hiding in the truck of Ji and Kate's car without anyone's knowledge, the plans to see Santa were still good. With the city still working to get back to a normal function, the people who had come back or who had been trapped inside needed a lot of cheering up and the holidays were just the thing to bring that happiness back into their lives. Whether they were Jewish, Christian, Muslim, Sikh, Buddhist, or atheist everyone was coming together and celebrating the holidays. Everyone had a reason to get together with their families and take some time to just relax and enjoy.

For the kids especially, Santa was making his way around the city. He was appearing in as many public places as he could, and would accept lineups of kids, no matter how long. Today, he made a trip to the mall and while parents tried to gather enough Christmas presents for their kids, Santa would keep the kids entertained. He would have them sit on his lap, listen to their long wish list, and with the help of a few very talented elves, he would put on a few shows. All the kids had smiling faces. All the kids were excited to see Santa.

Except Terran. Riley took her new little cousins' hand and tried to walk him up to Santa but Terran wouldn't have any of it. It was something of a funny sight whenever a kid was scared of one of the jolliest men in history. Serena stuck close to Terran, trying to reassure him that the stranger who was trying to get him to sit on his lap was nice. Riley even demonstrated first for Terran, and had gone a little overboard explaining her list and her situation to Santa.

But even when it was his turn, Terran wouldn't have it.

"Maybe next year," Serena hugged her son close and Terran gave Santa a dirty look at Serena carried him off.

"Watch the look, little monster," Mike gave his nephew a gentle pat on the head, "Santa's a good man. He's in charge of all the presents. You don't want coal, do you?"

"I took a buttload of pictures," James held up his camera to show Serena, "Wedding blackmail for sure."

"I can't imagine why anyone would be scared of Santa Claus," Kevin said with a shake of his head, "I mean… he's Santa."

"Mom and dad took me to Santa for the first time when I was five," Mia shook her head and tried not to laugh as she remembered the moment. Her family didn't really celebrate Christmas, as their focus in life was less on faith and more on Samurai training, but it had been something Mia had been asking about, as other classmates could speak of nothing but Santa a Christmas during the entire month. "When it was finally my turn, and Santa told me to sit on his lap, I remember screaming and punching him… well, there's a reason Santa doesn't have kids."

"Ouch," Mike, Kevin, and James all winced at the story.

"Mia! Mia! Mia!" Riley suddenly started to tug on Mia's hand as she tried to run ahead, "Toys!"

Mia, and everyone else saw the toy store was ahead, but while they were watching Terran and Riley and spending time together going around the mall, Noa, Mako, Patrick, and Christina were doing Santa's job and they were buying gifts for Riley and some for Terran. Riley's parents hadn't gotten the chance to leave anything behind for her, and just because it would be Riley's first Christmas without her old family didn't mean it had to be a bad Christmas. Lauren had already given Mia and Kevin some good advice when it came to Riley. They had to be careful and patient with her, but they couldn't be too soft on her either. She had lost her home, her friends, and worst of all, her family, but she still had a whole life ahead of her and she had been fortunate enough to fall into caring arms. Getting through Christmas, whether it was a good or bad time, would be good for Riley.

But the little girl was still at the age where all her gifts could be bought at the toy store. If Riley went inside, either Mia and Kevin would have to be the bad guy for the good cause and say no to everything she wanted to buy, knowing their parents likely already bought it for her, or they risked bumping into the grandparents and Riley would see what she was getting for Christmas before the big day.

"Look!" Mike was almost just as excited for Christmas, and he had told the Samurai stories of how he would try to sneak an early peek at his Christmas presents, but now that he was on the _adult end_ of Christmas he was a good ally for the parents and he knew how to curb the child's enthusiasm, "Candy store!"

Riley's eyes lit up as she darted off with Mike, having forgotten about the toys for a sweeter treat. Kevin and Mia groaned, but it was the lesser of two evils in the long run.

Suddenly, Riley came running back, "Mia, I'm going to the candy store."

Mia smiled, "Thank you for telling me."

Riley smiled back and darted off again, chasing after her uncle Mike, who already had a bag of candies in his hand which he was trying to keep away from Riley.

"Look at that, she learned something," Kevin wrapped his arms around Mia and gave her a kiss on the cheek. Mia nodded.

"Now if only she can keep that up."

-Samurai-

On the other end of the mall, Ji was looking around for a gift for Kate. She was his first girlfriend and his first girlfriend over Christmas. He wanted to get her something special but had very little practice with gift giving for girlfriends. He had no idea what to give her as a present.

And with so many options, he felt overwhelmed. There were things he thought she would like, but they weren't enough. There were things that were more than enough, but were a little inappropriate. He thought of jewellery, but Kate didn't wear much anyways. He thought of her hobbies, but like him, her life revolved mostly around the Samurai lifestyle and looking after her two Samurai girls and their families.

Suddenly, he got an idea. It occurred to him as he looked through the window of the store. With a huge grin on his face he walked right in, excited for this gift.

-Samurai-

"We haven't decorated the tree yet, Emily," Ellie said as she knocked on Emily's bedroom door. "Why don't you come out and help your father and I…?"

"It's okay."

Ellie shook her head and walked into the room. She normally didn't barge in, but she remembered what her mind had been like after coming home from her Samurai duties. She didn't want her daughter to live through the after-trauma of the war. Being a Ranger was more than enough stress for a lifetime.

"Sweetheart, you can't just sit in your room and dwell on what's happened," Ellie caught Emily looking at news pages on the internet, and from the pictures she could tell the pages all had something to do with the Samurai, the Nighlok, or the war. Ellie turned off the monitor and then unplugged the computer. She didn't care what happened to it. Emily had left Panorama so she could move on and the computer wouldn't do her any good.

So she dropped it out the window.

"MOM!"

"Internet is slow out here anyways. You don't need it. You always used to help us decorate the tree. It's a tradition I'd like to get back to."

"I can't believe you'd drop a computer from a second story window," Emily looked down at the broken machine, "Mike and Antonio would have you murdered, you know."

Ellie shook her head, "The computer is stupid anyways. There's nothing but crap on the internet."

"Yeah, but mom…"

"I made cookies and pie."

"Mom…"

"Emily, you came here to feel better. I've been through this before. At least give my way a shot. Don't you want to go home for Christmas? I sure as hell want to see my grandson."

"Do you like the Rangers?"

"Of course I do."

"But what if you weren't one of us. What if you didn't know what you knew about being a Ranger. Some guy on the bus said…"

"Is he a Samurai?"

"Well, no but…"

"Is he a Ranger?"

"No, but mom…"

"Then his opinion means absolutely nothing."

"But all those people…"

"Don't know anything. I had to learn that after my time. No one but my team and my family will ever understand what it's like to be a Samurai. No one but me will understand my journey and my life. Everything those people say about how you're not a hero, how you let people die, what did they do? What did that man do? Do you know?"

"He… he said he hid in his basement."

"What did you do?"

"I defeated Xandred. We defeated Xandred. But after that, mom. What did we do after that? People out there are still hurting and…"

"After Xandred," Ellie thought about it and then shut her eyes, trying to hold back the tears. She had almost lost Emily. She should have lost Emily. The Samurai had been blown out of the Megazord and blasted to several different points in the city. They had all been so close to dying that Ellie had started to think of her speech at her daughter's funeral.

And it had taken weeks before any of the Samurai were strong enough to get out of bed.

"That man, and all those people have no idea how much you've suffered. How much you've sacrificed. That's the cost of being a Ranger and keeping your identity a secret. No one will know your story but everything thinks they have a right to judge. You need to ignore it, Emily."

"Ignore all those people? I can't."

"I'll help you. And we'll start with the tree," Ellie held out her hand and Emily took it. "Maybe, your father will let you put the star on the top."


	12. Early Christmas Bonus

Mike was on the phone with Emily. She had gone home to the farm to get away from Panorama City. Everything had been going smoothly since the end of the war until Riley disappeared and Mike and Emily, as well as the other Samurai, were on a mission to find her and bring her back to Mia and Kevin. While looking for the little girl and trying to come up with reasons for why she would run away, everything about the war and the final battle had come back to Emily. Hundreds of people had been killed and thousands of people had suffered. Everyone in Panorama City was still trying to come to terms with what had happened, and if they weren't dead or injured, they were caring for someone who was injured or morning the loss of one or more loved ones who had died.

Kids, little kids were suffering. Even Mike found it hard not to feel a little responsible, but he stayed positive. He knew he had done his best and the world could be a lot worse off. Emily, meanwhile, was having a harder time. Panorama City reminded her of all the grief and heartache and she needed to get out. Mike let her go so she could have some time to herself to come to terms with what had happened. But he spoke with her on the phone or via Skype every day; sometimes twice a day.

While he did that, Serena was also in the room and wrapping Terran's presents. The little boy was taking a nap and Serena thought this would be the perfect time to get Santa's presents done. Although Santa had traumatized him in the store, Serena though maybe they could make peace on Christmas morning when Terran saw presents underneath the tree that were just for him.

And it was Terran's first Christmas, which excited Serena to no end. She went crazy with the wrapping paper and even the presents. She bought everything a little boy would ever want and need, and even had gifts that would last him all throughout his childhood.

"Keep talking to your mom, okay," Serena overheard Mike say on the phone and assumed the call to Emily was coming to an end. She looked up, feeling a little upset. Emily likely wouldn't be home for Christmas. The troubles she was facing weren't curable in a week's time. Terran would have many Christmases, and with this being his very first he wouldn't remember it anyways, but Serena wanted Terran to have his whole family with him, especially his very special Auntie Memy.

Mike continued to talk on the phone with Emily, "She's been through this before. Now I understand why my dad was so wound up when he first came home. I'm sure she understands what you're going through more than you do."

"Tell her Terran misses her," Serena said to Mike and he nodded his head while also listening to Emily. Terran wouldn't remember this Christmas, but he was still a smart little boy and he still had an idea of what was going on now. Emily had always been in his life. Even when Terran had gone to live with James, James made sure the little boy knew who his family was. Technically, because Serena had been sick when Terran was born and Emily had to care for him the first day, Emily had been in Terran's life longer than Serena had. It was only normal he knew she was gone and that he start looking for her. Whenever the front door opened, Terran would look up and ask,_ "Memy?"_. It drove James crazy.

"We all miss you. Have a good time and relax. I'll see you soon. I love you."

Mike finally hung up the phone and Serena checked the clock.

"And hour and a half."

"She's my wife."

"It's my phone bill," Serena smirked and then shook her head, "Doesn't matter. How is she?"

"I think she's feeling better. But she's scared to come back," Mike sighed and took a seat among all the presents for Terran. He loved Christmas more than anyone in the house, and was excited for Christmas morning no matter where he was or where Emily was, but it wouldn't be the same without her. It was their first Christmas as husband and wife and it was looking like they were going to be apart. They would have many more, Mike was sure of it, but he was disappointed.

Serena knew this. She was a little disappointed as well, but Emily was her sister. They had many Christmases together and were always going to spend the holidays together. She couldn't imagine not being with James this Christmas.

"Here," she reached under the tree where a present for Mike had been sitting, "You can open it early."

"Why?"

"Because I'm going to get you something else for Christmas. Just open it."

"A bonus gift?" Mike found a reason to smile again and he got excited, "Have I told you how awesome a sister you are?"

"I know I'm awesome," Serena said.

Mike unwrapped his present with enthusiasm until there was nothing left of the wrapping paper. He opened the box and saw nothing but papers inside.

"What's this? This isn't a present."

"You remember how I worked for a while at the start of the year? At the school with the bullying."

Mike nodded his head. He wouldn't forget. No one could forget. Her job had been where she and James met, and had also pushed a little more drama into the Rangers' lives at a time where they didn't need outside drama.

"I'm working on getting a place back there," Serena said, "You can't stop bullying after only a few months, and I did leave some work unfinished. And they're still looking for a coach to take James' place. You need a job, they're willing to take you on as an assistant coach in a paid position if you're willing to take the job. I know you need one…"

Mike didn't know what to say, but he did know what to do. He grabbed Serena and pulled her in for a powerful hug. He hadn't been job searching for long, but he had had no luck finding a place to work. Nothing interested him, and without a real high school diploma many places wouldn't hire him. Serena had worked for the school before, and she had left a good impression on some of the staff – at least enough people to make her word count. She had put in a good word for Mike and with a little Christmas magic he finally had a job.

Just like he had promised Emily. He would get a job while she finished school. Eventually, they would get their own place and start a family.

"Serena, this is…"

"The bonus. I've got another idea for you for Christmas," Serena smirked. "By the way, we're leaving Christmas Eve."

"Leaving? Where?"

"Just trust me. We're all getting what we want this Christmas."


	13. Christmas Eve Morning

_Author's Note: Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to all my loyal readers. Hope you have a wonderful holiday and all the best in the new year!_

Ellie was getting out of bed in the morning and getting herself ready for the day while Jack was already out in the barn taking care of the animals. It was Christmas Eve morning, and just like every year, Jack and Ellie still had to get up early and work. The downside to living on a farm and caring for animals was that there was always something that needed to be done. While the workload was lessened in winter because there were no crops, keeping the animals warm, safe, healthy, and happy was a job in itself.

It was a cold winter morning. Jack always returned inside freezing cold and he needed a hot breakfast to warm up. Out in the country, the weather wet to the extremes. It was really hot in summer and really cold in the winter. There was already about a foot of snow on the ground and more was coming down, ensuring the town would have a very white Christmas.

Ellie didn't have plans for the day. Nothing out of the usual. Since Emily had left for her Samurai duties, and Serena had followed, wouldn't be the same. She and Jack had planned to go to the midnight mass in town, and they would eat dinner together and trade gifts, but Emily had suddenly returned home for Christmas and plans had changed slightly.

War was horrible. War was terrifying. Even the victors couldn't leave the battlefield without scars or trauma. Ellie remembered coming home after her war and suffering through nightmares, flashbacks, depression, hyper vigilance, and more for months. Some of her symptoms only faded away after years, and some she still experienced from time to time, especially while Serena and Emily were Rangers. However, she had learned to return to her normal life with help from her family and Dr. Fletcher, the Samurai's therapist.

Now it was Emily's turn to suffer and Ellie was doing all she could to reassure her daughter that everything would be okay for her. Emily was having nightmares and flashbacks and worries. She felt tremendous guilt for the lives lost during the war, and how people had suffered for two years. Ellie had seen this coming long ago, long before Serena fell ill and Emily needed to be considered to take her place as the yellow Ranger. Serena had been trained to be a warrior; to be tough. She took what life gave her and pushed through it. She had done so throughout her illness, never once showing her parents or her sister she wanted to give up. Serena had been born for and bred for war, because everyone thought it would be Serena taking up the responsibility. Emily spent her childhood protected. If Serena would have to face war, Ellie, and Jack especially, wanted Emily as far away from it as possible. Emily had been taught to be kind and empathetic, even to the kids who bullied her. She had been born with and raised to have a kind heart.

Dealing with the aftermath of war, having to live knowing she couldn't save everyone and that no matter how hard she tried, innocent people were hurting, was wearing her down. Ellie knew how it felt for Emily and she was doing all she could to comfort her youngest daughter – but she felt like she wasn't enough.

After getting ready for the day, she walked down the hall to Emily's room. A part of helping Emily readjust was getting her back into a normal routine – showing her that life went on and people moved on. She was going to ask Emily to help her breakfast. She knocked on the door but there was no answer. Assuming Emily was still asleep, Ellie opened the door quietly and walked into the room. It was Christmas Eve, Emily was hurting and upset, but Ellie couldn't allow herself to sugar coat the rest of her daughter's life. Being home on the farm meant early mornings. It always had. Ellie reached out and gently placed her hand on Emily's shoulder and shook her softly. That was more than enough to wake Emily, who snapped out of her sleep, grabbed her mother, shoved her down on the bed, and screamed.

"Emily," Ellie called softly and wrestled with her daughter for a moment as Emily slowly realized she was awake. This happened sometimes when Emily was sleeping. Ellie would unknowingly wake her from a terrifying nightmare and Emily's first reaction was to attack or defend herself. Fortunately, even after years of retirement from being a Ranger, Ellie was still strong enough to hold her own – especially against her daughters. She didn't consider herself to be a good mother if she wasn't stronger than her daughters. It was for times like these, where they needed her to be able to defend herself or even fight back.

"Sweetheart, it's okay. You're awake," Ellie managed to sit up and hugged Emily tightly, "Another one?"

"I killed everyone," Emily whispered. "Everyone in Panorama City was dead and I was covered in their blood. I don't know… I didn't see it happen but I knew… I killed them."

"It's hard," Ellie nodded and then gave Emily a kiss on the side of the head, "You're awake. Panorama City is fine. You're not a murderer. How about some breakfast? Shall we do a traditional Christmas Eve breakfast?"

Emily nodded her head slowly and with her mother's help she crawled out of bed and walked downstairs. She was a little shaky from her nightmare and knew it would wear off after a couple of hours of being awake. Mornings were always hardest, followed by nights. Anytime Emily was left on her own with her thoughts, she struggled with the images of the final battle and her guilt. Already once she had climbed into bed with her parents and spent the night with them after her thoughts kept her awake and in terror.

Ellie handed Emily a loaf of bread, "You'll be in charge of toast for now. Remember, your father likes them extra crispy."

"Burned," Emily whispered and forced herself to smile. Forgetting about her nightmares was easier when she pretended to be happy. Fake it 'till you make it.

"In other words," Ellie chuckled and nodded while she pulled out three frying pans. Christmas Eve breakfast usually consisted of toast, bacon, eggs, and pancakes. Her daughters' favourites. "What time were you thinking of calling Mike today? Your father and I would like to wish him, your sister, and Terran a Merry Christmas."

"Maybe more than once," Emily whispered and picked up the home landline. Her nightmare had been the worst one yet, and she knew that if she shared it with Mike he could help her calm down. Checking the clock, it was still a little too early for him to be awake, but she needed to talk to him. She was sure he would understand. She was sure he would want her to call him. Thinking of how much he cared about her and how well he took care of her, Emily couldn't help but keep a genuine smile on her face.

It slipped off when no one answered the phone. James, Serena, and Mike were all supposed to be home and they were all ignoring her call. None of them would ever ignore her in a time like this. Even James, who she had only met within the year, cared about her enough to answer a phone in the early morning. Emily considered him to be her big brother, and not just because he was unofficially officially married to her sister.

"Maybe they can't hear the phone," Ellie suggested. "You can try again later. For now, we can talk."

"But you're just going to tell me…"

"I'll just listen today."

Emily sighed but gave into her mother's request, "I feel like I did kill all those people…"


	14. Christmas Surprise

Riley did not like this Christmas Eve one bit. Her new family had promised her an amazing Christmas in spite of losing her parents and her brother only weeks before. She had been looking forward to having fun, eating candy, staying up late, and opening presents on Christmas morning. However, on the day before Christmas, Mia and Kevin were putting her inside a big van and telling her they were going to spend the holidays out of town. She didn't like that one bit. She was still trying to get used to her new home and her new living arrangements and now, Christmas morning, she would wake up in a strange bed.

And worst of all, she was worried there would be no presents. She had _just_ told Santa where her new house was and now she wouldn't even be there Christmas morning. She wasn't sure he would leave her presents, or know Mia and Kevin were taking her somewhere else.

She was convinced her new parents didn't want her to get presents on Christmas.

"Riley, move your arms. I can't get the seatbelt around you if you won't move your arms," Kevin grumbled as he tried to get Riley safely into her car seat for the drive. Riley shook her hands and kept her arms where they were.

"I telled Santa I lived here! He won't give me presents if I'm not here!"

"I called him this morning," Kevin assured her, "I told him we would be somewhere else. He knows. He'll bring your presents to Auntie Serena's house."

"Pinky promise?" Riley held out her pinky. Kevin groaned and wrapped his pinky around hers.

Meanwhile, by Kate and Ji's car which was parked at an angle so Riley couldn't see the trunk, Mia, Ji, Kate, Serena, and James were stuffing the trunk with _Santa's_ presents. Changing the plans for Christmas the day before wasn't ideal, but everyone agreed it was worth it. Mike, especially, was thrilled about the new location for the holiday and couldn't stop honking the horn to the van, telling everyone to hurry up and get on the road.

"BA BA BA!" Terran finally yelled at his uncle and covered his ears.

"You tell him, buddy," Antonio said from the very back of the van and gave Terran a high five. Terran didn't know what the high five was, but did slap his uncle's hand. "Awesome, kid!"

"Do I have to sit in the back seat?" Lauren grumbled, crammed into the very back with Antonio and Jayden. She didn't mind sharing a bench with Jayden. She didn't mind sharing a bench with Antonio. The problem was that she was sharing with the two of them, and she was caught in the middle. Despite being the oldest, she was the smallest, and Kevin, who would be driving the van wanted to be able to see out the back window of the van for safety reasons. That was also why Riley and Terran were side by side in their car seats in the middle of the center row, with their respective mothers on either side. Kevin, Mike, and James were sitting on the bench in the front, with Mike in the middle, because he was the shortest, which gave Kevin a clear view out the rear window.

"Riley's in," Kevin was finally able to say, and just in time too as Mia was ready to hope into the car and fastened her seat belt. On the other side, Serena climbed in, put on her seatbelt and then tickled Terran.

"Christmas on the farm! You have no idea how happy mommy is. You're going to love it, Terran."

"A farm? Stinky!" Riley pinched her nose and rolled her eyes. She turned to Mia, "I want to stay home."

"You're going to have fun Riley, I promise. It's still going to be an amazing Christmas," Mia wrapped her arm around her daughter and gave her a gentle hug. Riley shook her head.

"Do they have Christmas trees? Where's Santa going to put the presents? What about a chimney? Mia, he can't get into the house if there's no chimney! What about my presents?"

"There is a chimney," Serena assured the little girl, "with stockings and even a special pillow for Santa to land on."

Serena looked around the van at the others, sensing their stares, "Emily used to worry Santa would hurt himself when he came down the chimney, so before going to bed on Christmas Eve she would set a pillow in the fireplace for him to land on."

"That's sweet," Mia smiled.

Lauren frowned, "Wait, but I thought Santa wasn't…"

Before Lauren could finish her sentence, both Jayden and Antonio covered her mouth with their hands.

"Santa wasn't what?" Riley looked over her shoulder at her aunt.

"Santa wasn't clumsy," Serena said quickly to cover up for Lauren's mistake. "He doesn't hurt himself all the time like Auntie Emy does."

"Santa knows what he's doing," Riley turned around and looked at Lauren with a know-it-all stare. "He's been sliding down chimneys for, like, ten whole years."

"For a very long time," Mia clarified.

"Who's ready to drive?" Kevin asked as he finally started to pull the big van out of the driveway. He didn't know the exact way up to the farmhouse, but he would be following Ji and Kate's car the entire way.

"Dude, we're not even on the street yet and you're already falling behind! Speed up!"

"It's a residential zone, Mike! There's no hurry. Better safe than sorry."

Mike sulked as he sunk into his seat and crossed his arms over his chest, "This is going to be a long ride…"

-Samurai-

Though Jack could get the farm work done by himself, it was nice for him to have a helping set of hands, especially when those hands belonged to his daughter. He couldn't remember the last time he had one of his girls with him in the barn making his job a little lighter.

"Even after two years, you're still better at this then I am," he said to Emily as she cleaned out the horses' stalls like she had never done anything else. It all came back to her, like riding a bike.

"I wouldn't say that," Emily shook her head and then nearly tripped as she brought over another wheelbarrow full of shavings to dump into the stall.

Jack watched Emily and felt a little smile tugging at his lips. Over breakfast he had been told of her nightmare and he could see just how badly shaken up the war against the Nighlok had left her. As the day went on, he could tell she was feeling better.

At the same time, he was also sad to see she seemed preoccupied, and it wasn't just because she had tried several times to call home and got no answer from Mike, Serena, or even James. Jack had seen this before with Ellie, and though he didn't like to think about it, he had seen it with Serena too. All three of his girls had faced death and danger and unfortunately, he had never been able to do anything but stand on the sidelines and hope they could fight back.

After Emily dumped and spread the shavings for the stall, she picked up the wheelbarrow to collect another load for the next stall. Jack touched her arm and stopped her before he gestured to the bench, "It's time for a break."

"But there's only a couple more," Emily pointed down the row, "We're almost done."

"I wanted to talk to you."

Emily rolled her eyes. She had come back home so her parents could help her and to get away from Panorama City and the people, but there was a point where enough was enough. She could only handle so much heart to heart in one day.

"I know it's stupid. I know I need to take my time and ignore what people say. I know they don't know me and what I've been through…"

Jack shook his head, "Your mother used to wake up in the middle of the night. She would scream. She would wake you and Serena with her cries, and sometimes I caught her checking up on you girls. She was terrified Xandred wasn't gone and that he would come back to exact his revenge on her."

"Hurting the innocent," Emily sighed, "It sounds like a Nighlok thing to do."

Jack nodded his head, "This lasted for months. You were too young to remember or know, but Serena and I suffered through it. Your mother did exactly what you're doing now. All yellow Rangers did. Why do you think your ancestors moved away? Why do you think they never moved back?"

"We're Earth, dad," Emily gave him a look, "I know you don't feel it, but I'm stronger out here. We're closer to our element and…"

"But that makes no difference if you're fighting your battles in the city," Jack shook his head. "Strength here means nothing when the war's on someone else's turf. Besides, everything around you comes from the earth. The concrete roads, the buildings, they are all built from the earth."

"I guess."

"You care," Jack said, "You've always cared. You, your sister, your mother, your grandmother. Everyone in your family has always had a big heart. You especially."

"Dad…"

"And that's my fault," Jack suddenly found he couldn't look at Emily, "Serena was raised for war. Though I tried to fight it when I found out, there was nothing I could do. When you were born, I was thrilled. I've always raised you to be my little girl. My sweet, beautiful, innocent, little girl. You were never supposed to fight."

"The ape Zord…"

"Was right," Jack said and gestured around the farm, "You and your team, you did it, and I won't let you believe for a second that they could have done it without you. You were a big part of that team. But we let you down. Your mother, your sister, and I; we all let you down."

"No you didn't," Emily shook her head. "I'm fine, dad. I like who I am. It's not always fun, but I wouldn't change anything, even if I could."

"I know," Jack wrapped his arms around Emily and gave her a hug, "I don't know what we did, or how we did it, but we raised you right. You're sweet, you're kind, you're caring. That's the… that's your obstacle. You care for those people who are suffering. You care for the people who have been hurt, and the people who lost their lives. As did your mother."

"She's mentioned that a thousand times," Emily rolled her eyes, "Dad, you're not saying anything she hasn't said already…"

"But there's a huge difference between the two of you. When your mother came home, she struggled, but she had something to come home too. She got away from the city and had a life outside of the Samurai life. She also had something to do; something to keep away her guilt and take her mind away from the war. She had a family. She had daughters. She needed to be a mother to you girls. She also did her part to help the city and the world by training the new yellow Ranger. You wouldn't remember, but Serena's training was the most intense for the months following your mother's returns. The two of them would spend full days in the field training."

"She was helping the people who suffered by making sure it wouldn't happen again," Emily said. "If Serena was a better, stronger yellow Ranger, then less people would get hurt. My team would be better. See, dad, less people could have gotten hurt."

"You had nothing to do with Serena falling ill," Jack stated firmly and looked Emily in the eyes. "She made a decision and it nearly cost her. It nearly cost us all. But do you remember why your sister was healed?"

"Serena told you?"

"It was Dekker's birthday present to you. Had Serena never gotten sick, and had she taken her spot right from the start, you would have spent your life here. No one would have called for a second yellow Ranger. Serena's contributions to the team came from you. All Serena's done to help are because of you."

"Dad…"

"You and Serena never would have worked together on the same team had you not taken her place. You've done more than you think to save this world and help so many people."

"But people are still hurt. People are still dead!" Emily pulled away from her father and turned her back to him, "How am I not responsible for that?"

Jack placed his hand on her shoulder, "You just aren't, sweetheart. You can't do everything. You can't protect everyone. Your mother had to learn that. She found a way to cope with it. She found something to do to help make things right. I think you need that too. You need to do something about this, Emily. You need to make things right with yourself."

"How?"

"That's up to you," Jack gave her shoulder a little squeeze, "Only you know how you feel. But I will help. Your mother and I will help. Whatever you feel you need to do, we'll be right there to support you."

Emily looked over her shoulder and gave her father a smile, "Thank you."

"Now," Jack stood up, "What do you say we finish up in here and then sneak inside? I know where your mother hid the Christmas presents and we can take a guess at what they are."

Emily smiled and nodded her head before jumping up and helping her father with the last two stalls. Sneaking a peek at the Christmas presents was always fun. Her mother had them wrapped before Christmas, so it was always just guessing based on the size and shapes of the gifts, and it made Christmas morning all the more exciting. Her mother as Santa had never once failed to disappoint Emily.

-Samurai-

"Are we there yet?" Mike groaned without even looking out the window. He had been crammed in the car for hours and was getting restless, and Kevin's refusal to go any higher than the speed limit was driving him crazy.

"Stop asking. We're not going to get there any faster if you keep asking."

"Are we there yet?" Riley tried her luck. Kevin shot her a glance in the rear view mirror.

"Don't even start, Riles."

Riley stuck out her tongue at Kevin. He was supposed to be her father, but she didn't like him much. She still remembered how he had pushed her down the stairs and how he had made Mia cry.

"BA!" Terran said and everyone awake in the car started to chuckle except for Kevin. Terran's vocabulary wasn't very large. Really, he could only say _mama, Memy, _and _ba_, but he was understood by everyone.

"Are you three happy?" Kevin made a turn into a dirt road, "I think we're almost there."

"But are we there?" Mike asked, "There's a difference."

"Don't make me hit you," Kevin growled.

"Hitting's mean! Santa won't give you presents if you're mean!" Riley scolded Kevin. "Say sorry!"

"Yeah, say sorry," Mike looked up at Kevin who groaned and rolled his eyes.

"Sorry, Mike."

"Mean it!" Riley said. "You have to mean it!"

"The house!" Mike cried and sat right up in his seat, "Guys, we're here! Wake up! Everyone, wake up! We're here!"

Kevin could barely park the car in the driveway before Mike was shoving at James, trying to push him out the door so he could get out.

Riley looked out the window, "There's nothing here."

"But snow," Antonio looked outside with a wide smile, "Christmas is really white out here."

"It's never not been," Serena said.

The van finally came to a full stop and Mike crawled over James to get out. He tumbled into the snow but caught himself before he fell completely and then had a look around. Seeing the house, he started to run towards it, then he stopped when he heard his name.

"Mike?"

He turned to face the barn this time and saw Emily and her father were just stepping outside. As soon as their eyes met, Emily dropped her tools and bolted over, jumping gleefully into Mike's arms and she knocked him right into the snow.

Serena watched from the corner of her eye with a smile while she took Terran out of his car seat, replaced the boots on his feet and then set him down. Terran had a slightly hard time making his way through the snow, which was almost as high as he was tall, but he eventually made it to his aunt.

"Memy! Memy!" he fell on top of her and Mike and wrapped his little arms around his aunt. Emily took him in her arms as she and Mike stood up. She gave Terran a loving hug and then wrapped one arm around Mike's waist as she turned to the cars and saw the whole family had come to visit.

"But what about Christmas at the Shiba House?" Emily asked. "And your families and…"

"They'll be here tomorrow," Kevin assured her before he turned to Jack, "Uh, I hope that's alright. This was all last minute."

Jack smiled as he took his grandson from Emily's arms, then gave Serena a hug, and then looked over to see the big, bright smile on Emily's face.

"The more the merrier," he said. "Come inside. It's a long way up. You must be tired."

While the Samurai made their way inside the house, Mike and Emily stayed outside. She looked up at him with her huge, happy grin.

"You came all this way?"

"It was Serena's idea. Her gift to me," Mike said.

"I'm sorry I couldn't be home," Emily said with a whisper and looked down at her feet, "I just… I don't think I'm ready to go back yet."

"All that matters is that we're together," Mike lifted her chin and gave her a kiss. "That's all I wanted for Christmas."

"Really?" Emily asked with a playful smirk, "Because I have a present for you under the tree already. I was going to bring it home when I did go back, but if you don't want it…"

"Who said I didn't want it? There's no such thing as too much," Mike shook his head and started to head to the house, "When can I open it?"

"Not until tomorrow," Emily gave him a smile. "Tonight's all about family."


	15. A Well Deserved Normal Christmas

Christmas morning, Mike woke up full of excitement, especially once he remembered where he was spending the holidays. Serena had given him the best gift he could ever ask for. Just when he had given up on spending his first married Christmas with his wife, she had surprised him and everyone by arranging a trip up to her family's farm. Everyone got to come together over the holidays.

Energetically, Mike rolled over in bed to wake Emily, excited for the presents under the tree, but there was no one beside him. He sat up and looked across the room. With so many people, he and Emily couldn't get a room to himself and he had to share with James, Serena, and Terran. He looked to the other bed, thinking maybe Emily had a nightmare, couldn't wake him up, and so went to be with Serena. But it was only James and Serena in the bed.

He looked to the crib. Terran was gone. For a split second he panicked. He knew the Nighlok were gone and there was no more danger, especially on the farm, but he had grown so used to there being trouble everywhere he couldn't break the habit quickly. He did calm himself down, though, and climbed out of bed.

No one was awake yet, which somewhat surprised Mike. He was on a farm, and he knew Jack took farm work seriously. Though it was winter, and there was nothing he could do for the crops, the animals were still very demanding, and caring for them was a lot of work. Jack, at the very least, should have been up.

So Mike went to check the barn to see if his father in-law knew where Emily and Terran had gone. Winter was cold on the farm, so he made sure to grab his boots and winter jacket.

He walked out in the snow. Overnight there had been another snowfall, covering the fields in a fresh, white blanket and making the already perfect Christmas better. Mike eventually made it through the foot and a half of snow and into the barn where he had a look around.

"Careful, Terran. Never behind the horse."

Mike saw Emily scooping Terran up in her arms, stopping the little boy from running around wildly while a horse was out of his stall to be groomed. Mike chuckled and approached his wife.

"Why didn't you wake me?"

"I've been up for hours and it's Christmas," Emily turned around and smile brightly when she saw Mike, "You should be sleeping in."

"You've been up for hours?"

Emily nodded. She handed Terran over to Mike and pulled out a brush for the horse. As she stroked the horse's back gently she sighed.

"Another nightmare. If I take my mind off Samurai stuff, I feel better."

"Where's your dad?"

"Sleeping in," Emily said. "Terran and I snuck into his room and turned off his alarm. This is normally when he wakes up, so I'm sure he'll be here soon anyways."

"You took care of everything?"

"Cows and goats are fine, they just need to be milked soon, which dad can do. Eggs are collected, the animals have been fed, and I've groomed most of the horses, after letting them outside for a run," Emily said, "There's just Stormblazer who needs his coat cleaned. Even with all this snow, he still finds the pile of poop and rolls around in it."

"Is that what I smell?" Mike asked and pinched his nose. He looked to Terran, "You are no longer the stinky one."

"Ba!" Terran cried and nestled into Mike's arms happily. He was a little tired, but Mike assumed he had gotten up with Emily, who also looked tired.

"How long have you been up?"

"I told you, hours. How else could I get all this done?" Emily gestured around the barn. From what Mike could tell, everything did look good. All the animals still inside seemed very content (though he was no expert). "I'm feeling a little better, though."

"Does being here help?" Mike asked.

"There's enough to do. It takes my mind off what's going on back home."

"Emily, the city's going to be fine. Everyone's going to be fine. It's an adjustment period."

"A guy on the bus said something to me," Emily was done with the horse and put away her tools. She opened the barn door and led the horse to the field just outside the barn. When she came back, she sat down beside Mike, "We're supposed to protect the city, right?"

"We did."

"But what are we doing now? People are still hurt and here we are celebrating Christmas and having fun? What did we lose? Shouldn't we be helping them?"

"You lost Scruffy, remember."

"People lost their children," Emily growled. "And Riley's whole family is dead. Scruffy's just…"

Mike wrapped his arm around Emily as her eyes began to water. Terran leaned into his aunt, trying to be of comfort now that he saw she was sad. With his little hands, he did what he could to wipe away her tears.

"Scruffy was part of the family," Mike shook his head. "People have no idea of the sacrifice he made for them. Without him, Serena would be dead, and everything she did to help us defeat Xandred… she figured out about his weak spot! We couldn't have won without her. Without Scruffy's sacrifice. We can finally grieve for him."

"Mike…"

"And the Zords. Em, they're all dead. They all died."

"For us."

"For the world. They gave every ounce of their energy to destroy Xandred. Without their sacrifice, everyone would be dead. And the Bear's like my brother. He is my brother. I miss him."

"I do miss Monkey," Emily looked down to her hands, "She used to wake me up Christmas morning. She was more excited than I was. Mom would always bake a special treat for breakfast for her. It was really sweet."

"And Mia lost her dad," Mike added. "It's her first Christmas without her father. I'm sure she's upset over that."

"But we're the Rangers."

"We're human."

"We're in charge of protecting people."

"We're human."

"We have to do something."

"What more can we do? We saved the world, Emily. We deserve to be normal for once. I've got a job, you can go back to school. People will heal. We will heal."

"I want to do something. I can't let it go."

Mike shook his head, "Emily…"

"I want to help. It's all I can do. People out there are still hurt. This isn't a Merry Christmas for them but it should be. Instead of…"

"I'm not saying you shouldn't help people, but I think it's time we put ourselves first. Our whole lives has been about protecting the world and it's Christmas…"

"But all those people…"

"What about all those people," Mike pointed out the barn door to the house, "Everyone came here to spend Christmas with you. Our parents are hauling their asses up here on Christmas day so we can all be together. We're the only people on this planet who know how much we sacrificed. How much we've lost. Mia's dad is dead. We've lost parents. Scruffy's dead. We've lost a beloved pet and a best friend. Our Zords are dead. We've lost family. Carrie's dead."

"Mike…" if Emily hadn't been upset before, she was now. She pulled away from her husband and turned her back to him.

"Our daughter's dead because of this war," Mike stood up and wrapped his arms around Emily, holding her close, "No one will ever know the sacrifices we've made for them. If they want to blame us, that's fine. If that helps them grieve, then whatever. But they'll never know. You need this, Emily. We all need this. People can say whatever they want – but as long as they choose to keep their heads shoved up their asses, they're the assholes. Not us. You can help them later, but can you spend Christmas with us?"

"I should be four months pregnant," Emily whispered and touched her stomach.

"Before you can help others, you need to take care of yourself. We need to take care of our family. We can start, by ending this year, and starting the new one on a positive note. The whole family's here on your farm. The world is safe. There's finally peace. We can rest without having to worry about a Gap Sensor going off, or wonder who might get hurt or die today," Mike leaned forward and gave Emily a kiss on the cheek, "Merry Christmas, Em."

"Merry Christmas, Mike," Emily looked up with a little smile. Her tears still sparkled in her eyes and Mike could tell she was still hurting. He hated himself for playing the Carrie card, but he had to do it. The Samurai had suffered just as much, if not more than everyone who blamed them. He would never stop her from trying to help, but he wouldn't let her help if it was going to cause her to suffer even more.

"Presents?" he asked, exchanging his sympathetic look in for a playful, childish grin, "I saw what Santa left under the tree. There's a mountain of gifts!"

"Breakfast. And we wait for your families to come first," Emily shook her head. "We do Christmas the right way this year."

"Auntie Emy! Uncle Mike!" Riley came racing into the barn and grabbed her aunt and uncle by the jackets and started to pull, "Santa came! He knew where I was! He left presents and I'm not allowed to open them until you guys come!"

"What about your sobo and…?"

"Everyone's here!" Riley said and pulled harder on the jackets, "Hurry! Hurry!"

"They're here?"

"Come on!" Riley cried. Mike put Terran in Emily's arms, scooped up Riley and raced outside to check for himself. There were extra cars on the driveway, and one of them belonged to his parents.

"Emily! Hurry up!" Mike started bouncing in the snow, and Riley bounced in his arms. "The parents are here! Presents!"

"Hurry! Hurry!" Riley called as well.

Emily looked to Terran, who was covering his ears with his hand to block out all the excited shouting.

"On Christmas, it's hard to believe he's two years older," Emily told him and rolled her eyes, "Your Uncle Mikey's just a really tall kid sometimes."

Emily looked out as Mike raced Riley back to the house and then pretended to fall in the snow to give her a fair chance at winning. Emily smiled brightly.

"But he's right. C'mon, little monkey. Time for Christmas. You're going to love it. Santa spoiled you this year."


	16. Family Christmas and Snowball Wars

This had been exactly what Lauren had in mind when she imagined having a family; everyone coming together and laughing, joking, sharing, playing, and having the best time. Santa had come overnight and the kids woke up to presents under the Christmas tree. With his parents' help, Terran unwrapped his presents and smiled as he recognized a few fun new toys to play with. His face lit up from all the excitement of those around him and Lauren could recognize the joy and happiness in his little eyes.

Riley had been a source of joy from the moment she came down the stairs and saw the presents. She lit up the whole room and unwrapped all her gifts by tearing off the wrapping paper like Lauren had been trained to tear through Moogers. She screamed with glee and excitement when she opened her presents. Though she had had a rough month, Santa had gotten her everything she wanted and more. Her favourite gift had to be a chid size pink Ranger costume to go with the mask she already owned. Despite knowing her new mother was the real pink Ranger, Riley spent the entire day in her costume and would only answer to the name _Pink Ranger_.

The Samurai and their parents exchanged gifts as well and it seemed everyone got what they wanted. Lauren knew Ji had struggled to get a gift for Kate, but finally managed to find something that she loved. He bought her picture frames for the walls and had already placed pictures of Kate's families inside. Emily and Serena shared a frame, of course, because they were Kate's nieces. There was a picture of Kate and Ellie on a girl's day from a while back (Ji obviously had some help with the pictures). And there was a new picture which had been taking the night before. Antonio had gone around the rooms with a camera snapping pictures of the Samurai and he must have had an agenda because he had gotten the perfect picture of Ji, Kate, Lauren, and Jayden. Though there was no holy matrimony or wedding plans of any kind just yet for Ji and Kate, they were as much family as any other married couple. The gift almost made Kate cry, and Lauren was touched by it as well. Ji must have known, because after Kate gave him a loving hug and a very thankful kiss, he glanced to Lauren and smiled brightly.

But there had been so much joy and excitement that Lauren was feeling a little overwhelmed. While the party continued inside, Lauren stepped out into the field and then over to the barn. Like Serena and Emily, she had grown up with horses. She had spent a lot of her time training and many of her senseis thought it was important she knew how to ride. If Lauren could say she had a friend, it was certainly the horse she conjured up with Symbol Power – if it counted.

It was nice to be around real horses, though.

As she fed one of the horses a carrot, she heard the barn door slide open and looked over her shoulder. Jayden walked into the barn with his arms behind his back. He had a look around and then his eyes fell on his sister.

"It took me a while to get used to all the chaos too," he said with a smile.

Lauren nodded, "It's a good chaos, though. I'll never forgive myself for asking you to take my place as a Ranger, but I'm so glad you got this family."

"It's worth it," Jayden said. "Besides, you never asked me to take your place. Dad put us in this position. It worked out, but he's to blame."

"I don't like to think of it that way," Lauren shook her head and sighed, "Dad was a hero. I'm sure he didn't like this idea any more than we did."

"That's what made him a hero. He sacrificed everything for the good of others. We're both alive today because of him. We're still standing here thanks to him. Everyone owes him their lives. I don't want you feeling guilty for putting me in danger. It's not your fault and you're my sister. I'm supposed to protect you."

"I'm your big sister. I should be protecting you."

Jayden pulled his hands out from behind his back and offered Lauren a box wrapped in Christmas Paper, "I don't know if you noticed, but you were one gift short."

"I was?"

"I wanted to give you this in private," Jayden put the box in Lauren's hands and smiled, "Merry Christmas, sis."

Lauren opened the box with a little smile on her face, but when she saw what was inside her heart stopped.

"You might not remember it," Jayden said and shrugged his shoulders, "but it was what you wanted for Christmas before you left. I've never seen you get so excited for a present before and it was the only thing you wanted that year. You were taken only a couple of weeks before Christmas and… Santa never got to give it to you."

Lauren pulled out a plush puppy with a Santa hat on its head and a red nose and looked to it with tears in her eyes. She remembered it. She remembered wanting this present so badly and remembered how disappointed she had been when her first Christmas away from home rolled around and Santa had forgotten all about her. It all came back to her from when she was only a child and how much she had loved the holiday. After so many years away from family and friends and without any holidays she had forgotten all about them, but this one came back to her.

She squeezed the paw on the dog and the nose lit up and the dog started to sing jingle bells.

"You remembered?"

"Santa… dad did have presents for you. After the war and after dad died and you left, Ji donated your gifts, but he must have thought that present belonged to me because I got it on Christmas morning and…"

"You kept it?"

"It kind of got shoved into the very back of my closet. When Antonio and I moved out I rediscovered it and I thought…"

Lauren threw herself into her brother's arms and hugged him tight. The moment seemed to last a while, until something hit Jayden in the back of the head. Something cold.

"Kids are in bed! Snowball fight!" Emily cried and launched another snowball at the siblings. Jayden turned around just in time to receive it right in the face.

"Emily…"

"I had cookies!" Emily squealed and then ran out of the barn. Jayden and Lauren looked to each other before following her outside. They found they had stepped out into a war zone.

But it was a friendly war zone. Snowballs were flying through the air and smashing against puffy winter jackets and instead of drawing blood, they drew laughter and giggled.

"Girls vs. boys," Mia cried out as she ran by and grabbed Lauren by the arm, "Our fort is this way!"

Lauren was dragged a few feet by Mia before she stopped, but her toy dog back in the box to keep it safe and then continued to run, dodging snowballs from the guys.

Jayden looked around. He could see snowballs flying, but it was dark out and he couldn't see any of the guys. Suddenly, having the darker colour uniforms didn't seem like such a great idea. At night, blue and green didn't shine too brightly.

"Where do I go?"

"PST!" he heard someone cry and turned around. Antonio, dressed in his yellow-ish gold winter jacket was waving him over while staying hidden behind a snow bank. Jayden raced over and dove behind the snow before he could be hit in the face again.

"It all started when Emily teased Kevin about getting a new scale for his meals," Antonio explained. "He had enough, took her outside, dropped her in the snow, and the next thing we knew, snowballs were flying everywhere. Emily tried to use Mia as a shield, Kevin accidentally hit her in a face with a snowball and the teams were made."

"That would do it," Jayden nodded his head and chuckled.

"¡Feliz Navidad, mi amigos!" the boys heard Emily shout from behind them before they were each hit with a snowball. Before they could do anything to fight back, Emily had disappeared.

"She's high on sugar and amazing at this game," Antonio added. "And Mike may be a double agent. You know how he gets when Emily's having trouble coping with something."

"She seems fine to me," Jayden shrugged his shoulders.

"It's the sugar high. C'mon, we need a few fort. She found this one."

Jayden nodded and the two stayed close to the ground as they crawled to a different part of the farm. Most of the field was flat, but there were hills and some drops that would be perfect for placing forts. They were determined to win.


	17. Can't Go Back

Christmas had been fun, and with all her friends and family up on the farm, Emily had had a good time. They had dinner, opened, presents, played games, and ended the day with a snowball fight (which the girls had won. An easy victory considering Emily had been loaded up with sugar and cookies and ran so fast no one could hit her with a snowball).

However, Emily dreaded this morning, and hadn't slept the night before because of it.

The Rangers were getting their normal lives started. Kevin already had a job and needed to return home, and Jayden had mentioned going to school and he had a lot to get done if he wanted to be in class when the new semester started. Antonio wanted to get back to his business. The fish weren't going to sell themselves, and unfortunately Emily's hometown wouldn't be good business for him. Ji and Kate were going to take time to visit Kate's family so she could finally introduce her parents and her brother to her new boyfriend. Now that Ji and Kate were in a very serious relationship and had been for a while, it was about time.

Serena and James also had to get home. Though Serena and Terran were enjoying their time on the farm, celebrating Christmas the way Serena and her family always remembered it, they had left Storm on her own and one night was more than enough for the little Shiba to cause trouble.

The parents had to go home also. Now that Christmas was over, some of them had jobs to get back to, and none of them had planned on driving all the way out to the country and so they needed to be home quickly to take care of the things they had dropped to be with their kids and to support Emily.

She couldn't ask anyone to stay for too long. They all had lives to get back to and Emily couldn't keep them from it. It was bad enough her stress and her guilt were keeping her from living her own.

So as the sun eventually rose and she heard people gathering downstairs for breakfast, she nestled into Mike's arms. She wasn't sure what he would choose to do once the others were packed and ready to go. He had told her of the job Serena got him at the school and though it was a guarantee, Mike had a few loose ends to tie up before the holidays came to an end. He would have to leave eventually, and there was nothing keeping him here.

She knew this was her doing. She knew she could go home with them, but the thought of returning to Panorama City, where the world had suffered and sacrificed the most terrified her. She was beginning to understand what her mother, her friends, and the other parents were saying. She knew she had done all she could, but she still couldn't ignore the fact that people were dead. As hard as she had tried, she couldn't save everyone. Nighlok had killed them, the Megazord had killed them… it was too much for Emily.

"Morning," Mike whispered when he woke up and saw her eyes were opened and Emily seemed lost in thought and very, very tired. "Nightmares keeping you up?"

"I didn't sleep," she shook her head and sat up. Serena, James, and Terran had already left the room. Terran was still getting up in the early hours of the morning.

"You've got to at least try," Mike said. "I know the nightmares are haunting, but at least they aren't real. Maybe if you can conquer those…"

Emily sighed. This time it wasn't the nightmares that had kept her up.

"It's not that."

"What about Dr. Flectcher?" Mike asked, "I swear, he's the most amazing doctor I've had. You've seen the results for yourself. I don't lose my temper anymore. Well, not any more than normal. And he fixed you last time you were scared like this. Remember, fire?"

"I'll never forget," Emily said. "I still get a little nervous around a flame."

"Maybe you just need to come back," Mike told her, "The scariest part is the jump. Once you're in the water, you're in."

"I can't go back, Mike. It's still dead town…"

"More people are home. Everyone's finding a way to cope. Shelters are opening up, families are being reunited. You have to look on the positive side. Sure, Riley's parents and her brother are dead, but thanks to us, Riley's not."

"Mike…"

"Thanks to us, kids all around the world still have their whole lives ahead of them. They can be doctors or lawyers or clowns or CEOs or teachers or…"

"I get it."

"We did good, Em, and you can make life even better for these people. You'll find a way. But you can't do that from here. If you want to make a difference, you need to go back."

"Not yet…"

"Then when? I love you, Em, and I know we're not going to spend our whole lives in the city, but I'm not living with your parents for the rest of our lives. I'm not staying here forever."

"Mike…"

"I want you to get better, and I don't want to pressure you, but at least come home for a little while. If you can't handle it or still need to talk to your mom about some stuff you can come back, but the longer you stay away the harder it's going to be for you to come home."

"Can I think about it?"

"Emily, please," Mike looked down at her pleadingly, "Just try it. A week, that's all I ask."

"I'll think about it," Emily sighed and pulled away from Mike. Her heart was pounding, she felt sick to her stomach, and she felt a little dizzy.

"I have to go home today," Mike told her, "Get some rest, think about it, and give me your answer in a few hours, before we leave. I'll support you no matter what, but I really think it's best if you at least visit."

Emily rolled over, away from Mike and closed her eyes to get some sleep, telling him she wanted to be left along. Mike leaned over, kissed the side of her head and then got out of bed, hungry for breakfast. He really didn't want to her, and if she was sure she wasn't ready to go home, he wouldn't force her, but he knew she couldn't stay away. Dr. Fletcher had told him that the point of recovering wasn't to avoid the things that made him angry, but to learn to deal with them properly. To do that, he had to work through situations that would make him lose control and overcome his desire to lash out violently. It was the same for Emily. If she really wanted to recover, she couldn't avoid Panorama City forever. She would have to get her feet wet again at some point. The sooner she came home, the easier it would be. The longer she stayed away, the more her fears and her guilt would keep her away. She had to face her demons at some point.

-Samurai-

"What if we do it in the summer?" James looked to Serena as they discussed plans for their wedding. Now that there were no more Nighlok, all the Ranger wedding plans could really get going. Kevin and Mia were very anxious to get their wedding going, and James and Serena were also very excited and couldn't wait to get everything sorted and for the big day to come.

They had agreed on getting married at Serena's parents' farm. Serena loved growing up on the farm and James thought the location was amazing, especially in the summer time. It would also save them quite a bit of money which would allow for a better honeymoon and with a son already in the picture, they needed as much money as they could save up for his future. Whatever he chose to be and whatever he wanted to do, James and Serena wanted to be able to support him.

"You mean wait another six months?"

"It gives us plenty of time," James nodded. "Terran will be a little older, this place will look amazing, and it'll be enough of a warning for friends and family to get some time away from work so they can come."

"It'll also get Mia's wedding out of the way," David said as he joined Serena, James, and Terran at the table. "She and Kevin are in the living room and all they're talking about is a Valentine's Day wedding. Mia thinks it'll be perfect."

"It would help," Serena agreed as she thought about it. "If Mia's wedding is over, she'll be more focused on helping me plan mine."

"Ours," James corrected and Serena blushed slightly. She had never been big on weddings, but now that she was marrying the man of her dreams she could understand Mia's love for them. It was going to be amazing. "It'll also mean we'll be able to work out the wrinkles from Mia's and Emily's weddings. Our wedding will top theirs on the awesome scale."

"Wait a minute," the four heard a voice and turned to the stairs where Mike was coming down, "Mia and Kevin are planning their wedding?"

"Yeah," David nodded, "They're in the living room now…"

Mike ran the rest of the way down the stairs and bolted into the living room. Then he pointed at Mia and Kevin, "You're re-engaged!"

"Finally!" Mia cried with a smile and held her hand up in the air, showing off the ring. After Kevin had forgiven Mia for running off they had agreed to continue their relationship, but their engagement had been put on pause. Mia had crushed Kevin's heart, and before he could take her back he needed to see if there was enough magic left between them to survive a marriage. Kevin would make his decision when he was positive Mia was still the right one for him and she wouldn't break his heart again.

"I gave her the ring last night," Kevin explained and smiled to Mike, "Thanks for keeping it safe for me."

"What are best men for?" Mike shrugged his shoulders. "I knew you two weren't calling it off. And anyways, I'm not the earth Samurai, but I know an expensive rock when I see one."

"You're getting married?" Riley turned away from her cartoons for a moment and stuck out her tongue, "Eww…"

"Probably the only kid in the world who doesn't want happily married parents," Antonio chuckled and messed up Riley's hair. She gave him a glare and then groaned.

"But Mia, I don't like Kevin."

"But I like you," Kevin smiled at her. Riley just rolled her eyes and went back to watching TV.

In the kitchen, Serena and James could see and hear the others, but a glance at the time reminded them they had somewhere to be. Storm had been left alone in the house and the more time it took for someone to get home, the more time Storm had to destroy everything. James and Serena didn't plan on staying for too long.

"We've got to think about heading out," Serena stood up, took Terran from his high chair and handed him James, "Mind getting him ready while I make up a car for us? The others might want to stay for a little longer."

"Make up a car?"

"Symbol Power."

"What can't Symbol Power do?"

"I won't be using it as much now that we're not Rangers," Serena said, "but we need a way to get home and your car is still in our driveway. Unless you want go home on horseback."

"I think we can use one more symbol. Can you make up a…"

"No."

"But I can drive my dream car!"

"Not with a baby in the back seat you can't. Safe, comfortable, and efficient."

James groaned and rolled his eyes but he did as his fiancée asked. He took Terran upstairs to get him dressed and ready to leave.

He walked into the room quietly. Everyone was awake but Emily and he knew of her nightmares. Thinking she was sleeping in because she hadn't sleep well during the night, he didn't want to wake her. As quietly as he could with a baby, he moved around the room and got Terran dressed and the suitcases packed.

Suddenly, Emily woke from her sleep with a piercing scream. It startled James, terrified Terran, and caught the attention of everyone downstairs as footsteps could be heard racing up the stairs. Emily sat up in her bed and looked around the room in panic. The rest of the house stormed into the room. Mike and Ellie were quickly by Emily's side.

"Emily…?" Mike asked as he sat beside her while Ellie pulled her daughter in for a hug while telling her everything was fine and it was all just a nightmare. Emily took another moment to make sure she was on the farm and not in Panorama City and then she looked to Mike.

"I'm sorry. I can't do it."

Mike looked rather upset but nodded his head, "You're too scared of going back?"

"I can't. It's dead. It's all dead."

"Emily…"

"Everyone's dead, I'm covered in blood, and now the city's on fire. I'm burning alive in a city of people I killed."

"You didn't kill anyone, Emily," Jayden shook his head. "Everything's fine back home. It's soon going to be the city we know and love…"

"It's not my city," Emily buried her face in her mother's shoulder. "All I know is danger, war, and death. Panorama City is a battlefield. I'm sorry. I can't go back."

"Not even if…"

"No! I'm not going back!"

"Maybe you should step outside for a moment," Ellie said to the other Samurai as she held onto her daughter tightly. Unlike the others, only the Earth Family lived away from the city, and generally they only returned to Panorama to fight in a war. Emily was right; to them, Panorama City was nothing but a battlefield. All memories, even the good ones, were still tainted by Nighlok.

"What are we going to do, Em?" Mike asked her while the others started to leave. Emily shrugged her shoulders. "I've got a job in the city. I can't move away from that. But I'm not leaving you."

"It'll work out," Ellie promised Mike. "I'll take care of everything. Just be patient."

Mike nodded his head and then looked to Emily one last time, "I'm not leaving you, but I can't watch you live like this Em. Please be brave. For us."

Emily looked up at Mike and nodded her head, "I'll try."

Mike gave her a little smile and then walked out of the room. The only person left beside Ellie and Emily was Serena.

"James can take Terran home and I can stay if…"

"If you need to leave, Serena, then go," Ellie said. "Emily will be home with you soon enough."

Serena sighed, walked over to her sister and put her hand on her back, "One phone call, Em, and I'll be here as fast as I can. If you need anything, just call."

"Goodbye, sweetheart," Ellie pulled Serena into her arms quickly for a goodbye hug, "Don't forget to visit."

Serena grabbed her bags from the room and walked out. She didn't want to leave, but she wasn't sure what she could do to help. She wasn't like her mother. She hadn't gone through this type of stress before. She was more resistant to trauma than Emily was and unfortunately, that difference wouldn't help at all.

When the room was clear, Ellie looked into her youngest daughter's eyes, "Fire now?"

Emily hugged her knees to her chest and sighed, "I think it's getting worse. The others are leaving…"

"They aren't leaving you, Emily," Ellie shook her head. "And it'll get worse before it gets better. You just have to want to fight it. Do you want to go home?"

"To Panorama? I don't think I ever can."

"Do you want your life back? Your sleep back? Do you want to have a normal life with your husband?"

Emily nodded her head, "Mike's got a job. I can go back to school… we can have our family…"

"Then you need to fight this thing," Ellie said, "Lay back."

"I don't want to sleep, mom. I…"

"You won't be sleeping. Close your eyes."

"Mom…"

"I won't let anything hurt you," when Emily closed her eyes, Ellie reached for the Samuraizer by the bed, "Take a deep breath."

As Emily breathed, Ellie traced a symbol on her chest. Emily relaxed into the bed and wouldn't wake. Ellie clapped her hands together loudly, but Emily didn't even stir. She set the Samuraizer down, kissed her daughter's forehead and then walked out to the hall. She bumped into Jack.

"What did you do?"

"She'll be fine," Ellie assured him and tried to walk off but Jack grabbed her arm.

"Last time you used a Symbol on our daughter we had to rush her to the emergency room."

"I know what I'm doing this time."

"That's what you said last time. You still almost killed Serena!"

"I don't know what else to do. This is a risk worth taking. And, I assure you, it's no risk."

"Eleanor."

"Jack."

"What did you do?"

"She's done so much, she just can't see it," Ellie pulled her arm out of Jack's grip and started down the stairs, "I'm going to say goodbye to our grandson."

Jack let her go and looked inside the bedroom. He did trust Ellie and he knew she was doing what she thought was best, but he hated anytime his daughters had to struggle.


	18. Unconventional Families

Although Christmas had been full of joy, and a refreshing end to the year for the Samurai, they left the farm on a sad note. While they all understood it would take a little more than presents, dinner, and a snowball fight to get their Emily back, they had all hoped for a little Christmas miracle. Since Emily's absence, Panorama City had grown quite a bit, and was becoming lively again. Everyone understood why Emily saw nothing but death. They all still had nightmares and they shared some of her guilt. But they were still able to see the beauty of the world they had saved, and they understood they had saved more lives than they had lost. Sometimes it wasn't easy, but they had each other to lean on when it got really dark.

Mike, understandably, was the most upset. He had to get home but he didn't want to leave Emily behind. The Samurai had come up in one van, but with Symbol Power they had made themselves separate cars for the drive home. Mike was in the back seat of Serena and James' car, pouting as he looked out the window.

"She always bounces back," Serena promised him. "Emily's never let anything keep her down. She's the strongest person I know."

"Same," Mike nodded his head but let out a depressing sigh, "I just wish there was something I could do. I really through I was getting through to her. She was so happy last night with all of us; I thought for sure that would be enough to convince her to at least come home."

"She will come home," James said. "I guarantee it. And if she doesn't, I'll pay for gas money so you two can visit every weekend. That's how sure I am she'll be coming home soon."

Mike shook his head, "That's not how a marriage works. I can't just see my wife every weekend."

"You won't," Serena looked over her shoulder and gave Mike a smile, "She'll be back. You just need to give it a little time."

"I don't have patience, guys. I really thought she'd be coming home with us."

"Memy?" Terran asked and looked around the car.

Mike pointed to the boy, "He agrees. She should be here…"

"Mom's taking care of her. My parents have always taken great care of Emily. Mom knows exactly what Emily's going through…"

"So do we."

"But she got through it," Serena said. "She moved on from it. Maybe that's what Emily needs. And mom's going to do anything and everything to see Emily get better."

"I just wanted her to be in this car," Mike turned back to look out the window and sighed again.

"Memy," Terran copied his uncle as he sighed and looked out the window sadly.

James took his eyes off the road for a second to glance at Serena and grab her attention, "Emily's got to come home. As annoying as her boundless energy and sunshine and rainbow attitude is, I'd rather Terran take after her than Misery Mike back there."

"She'll be back," Serena promised again. "Emily's coming home."

-Samurai-

"A babysitter?" Riley looked up at her adoptive parents like they were crazy and then shook her head. "Peter babysits me. Not a stranger."

"It's not a stranger," Kevin pinched the bridge of his nose. He and Mia were already home and now that they planned on having their wedding on Valentine's Day they had to look for the perfect place for the ceremony and the reception. Riley would be bored if they took her along, and with Mia's dream wedding at stake, they could be searching well into the night, after Riley's bedtime. "Your Uncle Jayden, Uncle Antonio, and Aunt Lauren are coming over to look after you."

"You like Auntie Lauren," Mia said.

Riley shook her head again and stomped her feet, "I don't like babysitters! Peter babysits me! He knows how to do it."

"Peter can't do it," Kevin was trying his best not to blurt out the truth. He knew Riley knew it. She had witnessed it. She didn't need to be reminded her brother was dead.

"You're adopting me and leaving me with strangers!"

"They aren't strangers," Mia assured Riley and knelt so she was at the young girl's level. "They're mine and Kevin's best friends. And they're going to take great care of you."

"They won't tuck me in right. Not like Peter."

"Can you show them?"

"No. Peter can do it. No one else."

"Riley," Kevin decided to kneel as well. He didn't understand why, but he knew it helped when trying to talk to kids. "Mia and I want to get married…"

"I don't want that."

"We love each other."

"Ew," Riley stuck out her tongue and looked at Mia, "Really? Him? You can do so much better."

"I love him," Mia said and gave Riley a kiss on the forehead, "And you two just gave me an idea."

"Look what you did," Kevin muttered to Riley and both looked to Mia as she stood up straight and smirked. She walked to the front hall to grab her jacket and slipped on her boots.

"I'll go look at places. I'll take pictures on mine phone, pick a few I like and I'll show them to you," Mia said to Kevin. "While I do that, you can babysit Riley."

"He pushed me down the stairs!" Riley pointed and accusing finger at Kevin, "What if he does it again?"

"The kid hates me," Kevin stood up and walked over to Mia, pulling her aside so Riley couldn't hear them talk, "Alright, she's my daughter and stuff, and she is growing on me, but a relationship takes time. You know that. I don't think I'm ready…"

"It'll only be for a few hours," Mia shook her head and opened the front door, "I love you both. Don't drive each other crazy."

With that, she walked out and closed the door. Kevin and Riley both stood and stared at the door for a moment, completely stunned. And then they looked to each other.

Suddenly, Riley let out a scream, darted off down the hall and into the bathroom. She slammed the door shut and Kevin heard it lock.

"Riley, get out of there," he told her and tried the doorknob, knowing it wouldn't turn.

"No! You can't push me down the stairs and you can't tell me what to do! I don't like you! You're mean!"

"I'm sorry I pushed you down the stairs," Kevin groaned and rested his head against the door, "It's not going to happen again."

"You made Mia cry! She's nice and you're a meanie!"

"Riley…"

Riley screamed to interrupt Kevin and drown him out, refusing to listen to a word he said. She put up with him because they were sharing a house, but even then she kept her distance from him, choosing to stick close to Mia.

Kevin couldn't leave Riley alone in the bathroom so he cheated a little. He pulled out his Samuraizer and used a Symbol to unlock the door. He opened it, and Riley couldn't believe her eyes when he walked in and picked her up.

So she played jelly baby in his arms.

"Seriously?" Kevin was strong enough to hold her, even when she was nothing but dead weight. He carried her into the kitchen and set her down on her chair. "What do you want for dinner? I can make anything…"

He turned away from her to walk to the pantry. When he looked back, she was gone. He heard the TV turn on and sighed. At least she wasn't locking herself in a room.

"This is not going to work, Mia," Kevin shook his head, "And there's no way we're doing this more than once."


	19. Trial and Another Error

Kevin wasn't really sure what Riley wanted to eat, or even what she liked. Mia was her main caregiver and had that special bond with the little girl that made her open up a lot faster. Kevin was still the jerk who pushed her down the stairs and made Mia cry.

He was trying his best, though, and figured he couldn't go wrong with a spaghetti dinner in front of the TV. He brought her plate out to her and a bunch of napkins. Riley didn't say a word to him as he served him. She continued to stare at the TV.

The water Samurai had been around Terran for about a year, but Riley was a different case. Terran loved everybody, and he was too young to really have an opinion of his own. It made caring for him a little easier. Riley was older, she had an attitude, and she knew she didn't like Kevin. Kevin also knew he had to stand his ground with her. He couldn't give into her all the time, and he had to behave in a way that would earn Riley's respect, even if she didn't like it at first. He considered himself her father, and soon it was going to be legal. With so many orphaned children the adoption process was a little easier as the city and the state were quickly trying to find children stable homes.

Kevin did have a visit from a social worker to look forward too, but that wasn't on the table at this stage. Still, he had to get Riley to at least like him before the social worker showed up. Kevin knew kids had a habit of saying everything on their minds and of bending the truth just enough to keep it real, but exaggerated. No social worker would allow Riley to stay with Kevin if she told them how he purposely and angrily shoved her down the stairs, even if he was an accident on his part, and he had never intended for her to take a tumble.

"It's a commercial. Can you please put your bowl in the sink so I can clean it later?"

"No," Riley shook her head and handed her bowl to Kevin, "You do it. I'm watching TV."

"Riley, I think I'm being very fair here…"

"No!" Riley shouted and tossed her bowl across the room. "I don't like you!"

"That doesn't matter. I did ask you if you liked me, I asked you to put your bowl in the sink…"

"And I said no!"

Kevin remembered what his father did when he acted up. Neither Patrick nor Christina would ever tolerate Kevin disobeying them. So he grabbed the remote and turned off the TV. Riley's temper flared.

"I was watching that! You big meanie!" she threw a pillow at Kevin, who decided to let that one slide. As he set the pillow back down on the couch, Riley came at him with her fists. Her hands were little and she was nowhere near strong enough to really hurt Kevin, but the intention was there and Kevin knew his parents would never stand for this. Neither would he. He grabbed Riley, picked her up, and walked her up the stairs.

"Bedtime," he said as he put her in her bed and Riley screamed again. Kevin was losing so many points with her, he knew it, but he remembered a time where he hated his parents. He remembered hating them often as a child. He had never been a troublesome boy, but like all children there were times were he acted out and where he did get himself into some trouble. He knew it was going to be a process, and a long one, but he couldn't keep living like this. He couldn't let Riley believe she could walk all over him and do whatever she wanted.

When she tried to get out of bed, Kevin put her back in, tucked her under the blankets, and he wished her goodnight.

He had to repeat this several times before Riley gave up on trying to escape and stayed in bed. He closed her bedroom door and waited a couple of seconds. He had never had a four year old before, but he knew their tricks. Just as he expected, the bedroom door opened soon after he closed it as Riley tried to sneak out. She jumped when she saw Kevin had been waiting for her.

"It's too early for bed!" she shouted at him. "Mia puts me to bed! Not you!"

"Mia's going to be home late," Kevin shook his head, "And you didn't put your bowl away like I asked. If you're going to act like a baby, I'm going to treat you like one."

"NO!" Riley kicked Kevin in the shin and as he nursed his leg she bolted down the stairs. She jumped on the couch and started to look for the remote. Kevin had put it in his sweater pocket when he put Riley to bed and he knew she wouldn't find it.

"You're mean!" Riley cried when she knew he had hidden it from her. "I'm allowed to watch TV."

"It's bedtime."

"No it's not, poo head!"

"Riley…"

"You're not my dad! I hate you!" Riley screamed and head butt Kevin in the stomach. He grabbed her to pick her up and put her to bed but she let her body go, making herself as heavy as possible.

"I know I'm not your dad," Kevin shifted Riley's weight in his arms so she was easier to carry and walked her up the stairs. "I'm not trying to take his place. But Mia and I are taking care of you now and sometimes you're going to have to do as I ask."

As he got to the top of the stairs, Riley reached out and grabbed the banister. By now, it was an all-out war. Kevin's parents had never let things get this far. Kevin wasn't sure what they would do at this point. He tried to pry Riley's hands from the railing, but it seemed she had a tight grip and very powerful fingers. He couldn't hold her and force her to let go. Not without using too much force. So he set her down, thinking she would grab on to the railing and refuse to let go. At least then it would be easy to pull her off and take her the rest of the way back.

But Riley didn't hug the banister. Instead, she pushed a squatting Kevin out of the way and tried to run as fast as she could to get away. Her pushing Kevin was unexpected and he felt over. When he did, his leg came up just enough to catch Riley's, tripping her and she took another tumble down the stairs.

Kevin felt his heart stop as Riley let out a piercing and very pained scream. She tried to get up by herself, but Kevin watched her collapse and cry again. He didn't know what to do. It had all happened so quickly.

Just then, the door swung open. Kevin's heart stopped again as he assumed it was Mia coming home, but it was Jayden, Antonio, and Lauren instead.

"What the…" Lauren asked and she was first by Riley's side. She took the little girl in her arms carefully and looked her over. Jayden and Antonio looked up the stairs, seeing Kevin at the top with a stunned look on his face.

"What happened?"

Kevin felt tremendous guilt wash over him. He never intended for Riley to get hurt. He never even wanted her to be upset. He had just tried putting her to bed and her acting out had made things worse. He didn't blame her, of course, he could only blame himself.

"Maybe we should go to a doctor," Lauren suggested after seeing the swelling and bruising in Riley's wrist. She passed the girl over to Jayden, finding it was hard to hold her with her own injured hand. She still had the cast from the last time Riley had found trouble.

"I'll stay here with Kevin," Antonio said and he felt bad for the new father. Parenting was trial and error, but Kevin was having a lot of errors in such a short time. Antonio trusted he hadn't done anything wrong intentionally and wanted to make sure Kevin didn't beat himself up too much for it.

Someone also had to call Mia to let her know what was happening. Kevin was likely too wracked with guilt to think properly.

"Maybe you're going to get a cool cast like Auntie Lauren," Jayden said as he hugged Riley close and walked outside with her and Lauren.

"You'll get the hang of this," Antonio said to Kevin once the others were gone. "It's a good thing we decided to stop by, though."

"I'm a horrible person," Kevin shook his head. "I should have just put the bowl away myself."

"Kev, I broke a leg once because I wouldn't pick up my toys. This kind of stuff does happen. You didn't mean to hurt her, right?"

"No… no, of course not."

"Why don't you go lie down for a bit? I'll put the bowl away and then we'll think of something to tell Mia."

Kevin nodded his head and pulled himself off the floor. Still in a bit of a daze from what had happened, he walked to his room to lie down.


	20. Always Doomed

Jack couldn't care less about the farm. He had left Ellie to do all the work outside and inside. He knew she could handle it. To him, there was nothing more important that his daughter.

He had no idea what Ellie had done to Emily, but he didn't like it. Emily had been asleep for hours and though the rest looked peaceful, Jack could swear he saw some light bruising had appeared on her skin since she had fallen asleep, as well as a few burns. He trusted Ellie would never hurt their daughter, but he knew the danger of using Symbol Power and couldn't bear the thought of something going wrong. Ellie assured him Emily would be okay and she needed this, but Jack would feel a lot better if he knew something or if there was something he could do to help. After all, the last time Ellie had tried to use Symbol Power to help heal one of their daughters, it had gone terribly wrong.

He sat by Emily's bed and held her hand softly, "Come out of this, Emily. Don't listen to your mother or Mike. You can stay here as long as you need. You'll be okay."

On the surface, Emily looked like she was sound asleep, but her brain hadn't shut off from the moment she had been hit by the Symbol. She had figured out she was reliving some of her worst moments and to pass she needed to figure out the solution or get herself out of trouble. Already she had gotten herself out of the burning house, like that time Dr. Fletcher had locked her in his burning mansion to help her conquer her paralyzing fear of fire. She had escaped from Frankie's closet after he kidnapped her. She had challenged and defeated Dekker, and saved Terran and Serena from him without help from the other Samurai, and she had come face to face with Dayu and destroyed her.

None of those challenges had been easy, and Emily had failed many times, but unlike in the real world, she had redos. Unfortunately, the scenario changed every time she failed, and she would have to come up with a new way of getting herself out of trouble before she could move on.

She was on what she hoped was the last trial, as it seemed to be the toughest. The other Samurai were on the battlefield, facing off against Xandred. Though it was all just a Symbol induced dream, Xandred was just as terrifying and just as powerful as last time, and it would take all the Rangers had to defeat him.

So Emily had tried that. She helped her team defeat him quickly but that hadn't worked. The scenario restarted, she found herself back in the middle of the battle and still trapped in this dream. As it turned out, her defeating Xandred quickly didn't prevent hundreds of people from dying at the hands of the Moogers.

So the second time she left her team to take care of Master Xandred while she took on the Moogers. That ended worse than the first time. Not only did the Moogers still manage to kill hundreds of people and they left Emily severely wounded, but Xandred killed or fatally wounded all her teammates, granting himself victory and power to rule the Netherworld and the human world.

The third time, Emily willed her dream to start before the attack and it did, letting her know she had some level of control. Before the battle began, and even before the Sanzu Water burst through and poisoned the Pacific Ocean, Emily as the yellow Ranger ordered an evacuation of the city. Some people listened, others stayed behind. Those who did died, and while Emily was busy trying to convince the people to leave, her friends took on Xandred and died.

Time after time Emily tried something new. She started from the very beginning, or she put herself at the very end. She went way back in time, prevented Serena from getting sick and then watched as that made very little difference in the fate of the world. No matter what she did, people ended up dying or Xandred and the Nighlok won.

This time, she thought she would distract Xandred and convinced her friends to evacuate the city and save the people. Still people died, but her friends were safe. What truly made this a failure though was that Emily was nowhere near strong enough to take Xandred on by herself. She was killed within moments and had no idea what happened after that, as her dream reset again.

By now, Emily was exhausted. She always came back with the same amount of energy to begin with, but emotionally she was done. Unfortunately, the dream wouldn't stop. People were screaming as they tried to run, kids were crying, and Emily sat in a corner, unable to help while her friends fought Xandred. Now, not only were they a Ranger down, but Emily's misery fed Xandred and made him stronger. This continued through several dreams as Xandred grew even more powerful and took her friends' lives faster and faster. Eventually, the dream ceased to repeat. People tried to run and the Rangers did what they could to stop Xandred. This time, the match was a little more even.

"Emily! Help!" Mike shouted as Xandred beat into him, tearing through the green spandex with his sword. Emily nodded her head, wiped her eyes and morphed. Moping had proven it wouldn't get her out of the dream, but there was no way out. No matter what she did, she ended up failing.

The same thing happened this time, as a stray runaway accidentally found himself on the battlefield and Emily rushed off to save him, putting her own life at risk as she felt something slice into her back and then it all went black for a few moments. When her vision came back to her, she saw she was on Xandred's ship. She didn't know what had happened, but assumed he had won again.

"They begged me to spare you," Xandred scoffed before something stung Emily's back and she fell forward, off whatever she had been sitting on. As she tried to get up, she noticed she had landed next to a flute.

"Well?" Xandred cried in fury, "My headache is not getting any better!"

Emily grabbed the flute and looked at it while Xandred look to her expectantly. She wasn't sure what to do, but remembered Dayu used to play her Shamisen for Xandred and thought that was worth a shot. She blew the first note into her flute and Xandred seemed to relax just a bit.

Outside her dreams, Emily's father clutched her hand tightly as more scars and bruises covered his daughter's body and more and more he saw painful or hurt expressions on her face. Jack couldn't take it anymore and tried to wake her.

"Emily, it's all just a dream. Wake up, sweetheart. You're okay."

Back inside, Emily was pulled from her dream and sent right back to the beginning. The very beginning. Kevin, Mia, and Mike were beside her, and then Emily looked over, following the sounds of the hooves on cement.

"Lauren?" she gasped, seeing it was Lauren on the horse, not Jayden. Lauren gave her a bit of a look and then huffed. She hopped off her horse and looked at Emily.

"I could have sworn…"

"Serena's ill," Emily blurted out this time and Lauren nodded her head.

"It's not ideal, but I guess it's all we've got," she reached into one of the bags on the horse's saddle and pulled out a Samuraizer. Emily remembered there was a battle going on in the city. She had arrived right in the middle of it.

This time, it seemed she had arrived earlier. She accepted her Samuraizer quickly, turned around to run to the fight, and then gasped as Tooya, the Nighlok, killed a child and then spotted the Rangers.

"That'll happen," Lauren assured the Samurai just before the dream ended again and Emily was in another time. It was even further back in the past as Emily found herself staring up at what could only be Mia and Kevin in their very early teens, and what was possibly just a twelve year old Mike.

"I'm mighty green!" his voice squeaked, indicating it hadn't dropped at all. He was just a kid.

Emily's eyes widened again. She was only eight. She had been called into battle much earlier this time. But before Lauren or Jayden could turn up, she was ready to fight. She knew where the Nighlok was and raced away to defeat him before he could harm anyone. She was too slow, though. The city had cleared out quickly, but a Mooger jumped out at her and killed her instantly – before she could receive her Samuraizer.

The dream reset again, taking her farther back into the past where she found herself at the Shiba House. Her mother, much younger in age, walked right through her. Emily technically wasn't there. But when she saw what her mother was holding in her arms, she saw why. She was just a baby. Instead of staying home with her father, it seemed her mother had taken her along to the Shiba House.

"I did it!" Jayden's father suddenly ran into the common room with the biggest smile on his face. Emily noticed he ran to two little kids who she recognized as Jayden and Lauren and he took them both in his arms, "You'll never believe what I finally managed to master!"

"But you said it couldn't be done," Patrick looked up from his book, "You said there wasn't enough time."

"I don't know how I did it, but I did. I've got the Sealing Power! It's completed!"

As he said that, the Gap Sensor went off. Ellie put baby Emily in Lauren's arms and the previous generation raced off to their final battle. Emily stepped outside with them and watched. While Donny stayed back, his team charged the approaching army of Moogers and Nighloks. Emily could see him getting closer and closer to completing the Symbol and the aim was perfect to hit Xandred. But just before it was complete, a stray fireball from the mouth of a Spitfang was shot his way. Emily watched in horror as the Symbol was complete and shot in return, but Ellie jumped in front of Donny to protect him from the blast.

The Sealing Symbol worked to seal Xandred and the Nighlok away for good, and the fireball killed Ellie, burning her alive in seconds. Donny was covered, but the Sealing Symbol took a lot of energy, and it seemed the injuries he had sustained on top of him using up all his energy on the Symbol were too much. They were both dead.

"NO!" Emily screamed and shook her head as she was taken out of the dream and back on the battle field with her team, where they had faced Xandred for the last time. Emily fell to her knees and cried loudly. She was distracted long enough to be killed, but the dream reset quickly.

No matter what she did, no matter what ended up happening, someone always got hurt. Someone always died.

She beat her fists into the Earth, "Why can't I win? There's got to be a way."

She got up and tried again – but to no avail.


	21. Hard Truths

Riley poked at the splint on her arm and sighed. Not even the ice-cream at the table could make this day any better.

She was back at home with her Aunt Lauren and Uncle Jayden looking after her. Antonio and Kevin were still upstairs. Kevin couldn't show his face, too consumed by guilt and shame for what had happened. This time, his hurting Riley had been even less intentional. She had pushed him and then tripped over his feet. But she was the child, he had been put in charge of keeping her safe. The failure was his.

Riley, for obvious reasons, refused to talk to Kevin, look at Kevin, or even be in the same room as Kevin. She was convinced he was the meanest man around and wanted absolutely nothing to do with him.

"You're going to be fine," Lauren assured her as she brought a bag of peas back to Riley and placed it over her splint to cool her sprained wrist. "The doctor even gave you a pink one, to match your pink Ranger costume."

Riley sighed loudly again, "Why does Mia have to get married?"

"She loves Kevin," Jayden said with a little smile, hoping that would help cheery Riley up but she shook her head to tell him it wouldn't work. It would never work. Nothing about Kevin would ever make her happy or cheer her up.

"He's a meanie."

"He's a really nice person, actually," Lauren corrected Riley while trying to be as gentle as possible. "He's been nothing but nice to all your aunts and uncles…"

"You're not actually my aunt," Riley shook her head and let out a little groan, "My auntie is dead too. Mommy said she was very sick, and right before the monsters comed, mommy goed to see her to say goodbye."

"What was she sick with?" Jayden asked.

"Mommy said cancer," Riley took bite of her ice-cream and sighed again. For some reason, this ice-cream didn't taste the same. She moved her fingers and tried to get used to the splint. She was only four years old, but she had hurt herself before. Her visit to the emergency room hadn't been the first. It had been the third, and she had had less urgent injuries that her parents had taken care of outside of the hospital. She always remembered her mother wrapping her up warmly in her arms and snuggling her closely after she got hurt, when she was scared, or when she felt sick. Tears started to well up in Riley's eyes as it dawned on her she was never going to get one of those hugs again.

But instead of crying, Riley pushed her bowl of ice-cream off the table. The ice-cream hit the floor and the bowl shattered as Riley stormed out of the room angrily and jumped on the couch in the living room. There, she grabbed her pink Ranger teddy bear, hugged it to her chest and distracted herself with TV.

Jayden and Lauren both looked to each other. They knew exactly what was wrong with Riley. She was still grieving. Though Christmas had been a good distraction for her with all the presents and the excitement, it was over now, Riley was home, and she was back to playing her game of house with Mia and Kevin. It was back to her regular life, only without her parents and her brother.

"She's four years old," Lauren whispered to Jayden, "She's got no idea what to do anymore."

Jayden nodded his head and sighed. He remembered what it had been like after he had lost his father, and he had been older than Riley at the time. He didn't know what to say to Lauren, or what to do for Riley that could help. All he remembered was the grieving process had been quite painful.

Just then, the door opened. Mia had been looking at wedding venues just out of town when she got the call that Riley had been taken to the ER. She gotten the details in the car over the phone from Antonio and Kevin and she knew what happened, but it still didn't keep her mind from worrying the entire way.

And she looked the part. She was a frazzled mess as she rushed into the house and found Riley curled up on the couch. She saw the splint on her little hand and gently took the girl in her arms.

Riley wrapped her arms and legs around Mia and kept her close, "I don't want you to marry meanie Kevin."

"I'm sure it was an accident."

"No it wasn't," Riley shook her head before she buried it in Mia's shoulder, "Meanie Kevin hates me. I hate him. I don't want a new daddy. I want my mommy and my daddy!"

"I know you do," Mia said and rocked the girl in her arms. "I wish you could have them back too. But that's not going to happen."

"But I don't want meanie Kevin!"

"I'll take care of you," Mia promised, "And I'll talk to Kevin. We'll see if we can figure this out, okay?"

"No," Riley shook her head, "You can't leave me. Promise?"

"Pinky promise."

-Samurai-

It had been a long night for Jack as he spent every moment watching over Emily. It could have been the sleep deprivation acting up, but he swore the Symbol was doing the opposite of helping her. More and more Emily showed pained expressions, tossed and turned as she slept, and more bruises, cuts, and burns appeared on her skin.

He didn't want to leave her side, but he had to wake himself up. Slowly, he walked downstairs and made himself a coffee and sat down for breakfast. Eventually, Ellie joined him, awake early to get started on the farm work.

Jack heard her coming down the stairs and he looked up. He pounded his fists against the table and got to his feet, "Undo it."

"Jack, it's rough, but Emily's got to this for herself. If she's going to face her fears she's got see this through…"

"It's going to kill her!" Jack shouted and pointed upstairs to Emily's bedroom, "Have you seen her? Eleanor, any longer in this torture coma and we're going to lose her just like we almost lost Serena! This isn't working. You can't do this. Undo it!"

"I know it's hard," Ellie decided to do as he asked. She did want to check up on Emily. She knew she could expected to see something that would hurt her as a mother, but it was for the best in the long run. Emily needed to see she had done her best, she was stronger than she gave herself credit for, and she had already sacrificed more than enough for the city. This was the only way Ellie could think of doing it that would get through Emily's thick skull.

But she wasn't prepared for what she did see. Jack's eyes hadn't been deceiving him. More and more, Emily looked like she had after she had been in the final battle with Xandred. She was badly beaten, tossing and turning in pain, and from the looks of things, she was having trouble catching her breathe. Ellie hadn't expected Emily to be this stubborn. She thought that before it got to this point, Emily would have seen the point. She had underestimated her daughter's passion, strength, and stubbornness.

Jack came up behind her with his arms crossed, "Undo it…"

"This isn't something I can undo," Ellie shook her head, "Emily's in control. She's got to figure this out for herself."

There was a tone of panic in her voice with did nothing to comfort Jack. It only made his temper flare.

"What the hell did you do to her?" he growled.

"If I'm right, she's fighting Xandred again. She's supposed to see there is no way she could have saved everybody. She had to see that she did her best in that fight, and there was nothing she could do for the people who didn't make it."

"She's fighting Xandred?" Jack screamed. Had Ellie not been the muscle of the family, she would have feared her husband, but she knew she could take him and she knew he would never lose his temper enough to ever lay a hand on her.

However, there was no underestimating his fatherly instincts. He would protect his daughters, Emily especially, like a mother bear would protect her cubs.

"You sent her after Xandred? What made you think it was a good idea?"

"She was supposed to realize she couldn't save everyone…"

"We're talking about Emily!" Jack shouted, "The daughter who made us nurse a dying bird long after it sang its final note! The daughter who convinced us to keep that one-legged goat! You were expecting that daughter to give up trying to save people?"

"I…"

"Why is this hurting her so badly?"

"Symbol Power is complicated, Jack…"

"It's going to kill her!" Jack scooped Emily up in his arms and took her from the room in a dash. Ellie followed them and just barely made it into the passenger seat of the truck as Jack drove off. There was no hospital in town. The closest one was in Panorama City which was still three hours away.

But Jack sped off the property and down the dirt road. He wasn't sure what the hospital could do for Emily when it was Symbol Power that was hurting her so much, but he sure as hell wasn't going to leave her in Ellie's care anymore.

"Jack…"

"Shut up, Eleanor. I know you meant well but you have to think before you act! Everything you do affects this family! Using Symbols, running away, it's all got to stop."

Ellie sunk into her seat and looked out the window. The car was zooming down the road and Ellie was sure Jack had doubled the speed limit, at the very least.

She had tried, and she had meant well. She was sure that if Emily did wake up soon, everything would work itself out, but Jack was right. She had screwed up.

In the backseat, Emily let out a pained groan. In her dream, she had just been blasted into a wall before she fell and hit the ground. She had convinced herself that this would be the last run. In this final battle, not a single civilian had died, and she knew that because of Xandred's anger and frustration. After convincing her team she was calling the shots, and placing herself strategically in time to evacuate the entire city and hide those who refused to leave, she had managed to keep the people safe.

Now it was just a matter of keeping her friends safe. To do that, she couldn't let them take a single hit. If she had learned anything from repeating this dream so many times, it was that anything could lead to death. A momentary distraction or a simple wound could mark the end.

So Emily took every hit and used her passion to win to keep herself going. As she picked herself up, she saw Xandred charging towards her friends.

"Earth Slicer!" she launched her Shuriken across the battlefield and it cut between Xandred and Lauren, slicing the king of the Nighlok so Lauren could get away. The other Rangers then blasted Xandred with Symbol Power and they managed to knock him down.

But like Emily, nothing could keep him down for long. He gave up his quest on destroying the red Rangers and turned his attention to Emily. Though it was her dream, Xandred could also learn, and he had come to realize that if he wanted to be able to touch the other Rangers, he was going to have to go through yellow.

A fireball ripped through the sky and crashed down on top of Emily. She felt the flames through her suit and it burned at her skin, but she had already faced that dream and came out of it alive. Knowing fire could only hurt her if she let it, she pushed down her fear, brushed off the ashes and got to her feet again.

But it was too late. She took a moment too long to get up and Mike did as he always did. He jumped in front of her to protect her as Xandred tried to seize this opportunity to destroy her. Emily watched and let out a scream as Xandred's sword pierced Mike through the chest and killed him instantly. He removed the sword and was instantly under attack by the other Samurai.

Emily ripped off what was left of her helmet and pulled Mike into her arms, "Please don't do this. I'm trying so hard. The city's safe, you just need to be safe too."

Mike didn't answer her. He couldn't answer her. He was dead.

With the back of her hand, Emily wiped her eyes and watched as her friends finished Xandred off. Killing Mike was the straw that broke the camel's back for the team as they let Xandred feel their fury.

_You have to look on the positive side. Sure, Riley's parents and her brother are dead, but thanks to us, Riley's not. "Thanks to us, kids all around the world still have their whole lives ahead of them. They can be doctors or lawyers or clowns or CEOs or teachers or…"_

"I get it," Emily whispered as Mike's words rang in her head and she hugged him closer. "I did everything I could, over and over again, and I still couldn't do it. I couldn't save everyone. I did my best… that's all I can ask for. I get it, Mike. I get it! Wake up!"

"Emily? Emily, can you hear me?"

Her world went black for a moment but she blinked it away and was suddenly blinded by light and she could hear a voice. It sounded like her father's voice. She continued to blink, finding it hard to keep her eyes open with all the light.

"Shh," her father's voice said reassuringly and a rough, but gentle hand touched her cheek. It was her father's hand. He was right beside her, leaning over her even. She couldn't see just yet but she knew.

"Daddy?"

"You're okay… SHUT UP, ASSHOLE!" her father's voice was louder than the horn honking at him and Emily realized she was on the road. Her eyes finally adjusted to the light and she could keep them open long enough to look around. She was in the back of her parent's trunk, and her father had left her side to yell at the car behind them who continued to honk.

Ellie climbed into the back seat and leaned over Emily, "I'm so sorry, sweetheart. I thought it would work."

Emily sat up and threw herself into her mother's arms, hugging her tightly, "I couldn't save them."

"I know, Em, and I know it hurts but…"

"I get it, mom. I really do. I couldn't save them. I tried, and I tried, and I did everything. Nothing worked. I did my very best. I know I did."

Ellie hugged her daughter and let out a deep sigh of relief. At the very least, the risky Symbol had done what Ellie needed it to do, making the risk worth it, but now Emily wasn't the only one who had learned a lesson. Never again was Ellie using powerful Symbols on her daughters or anyone, no matter how confident she was it would all work out.

"We can go home and talk about it," Ellie assured Emily and helped her to sit up. Emily shook her head.

"Mike? Where's Mike?"

"He's in Panorama," Ellie flicked her thumb over the shoulder. Jack had stopped the car when Ellie noticed Emily was starting to come to, and they had stopped just at the border of Panorama City. Unsure of what her daughter wanted, or how she would react to being back in the city, Ellie didn't want to tell her.

"I want to see Mike. Where are we? Can I go home?"

"To Panorama?"

Emily nodded her head, "I can do it. I think I can. I need to see him, mom. I need to make sure he's okay."

"He's okay?" Ellie asked and then shook her head. She wouldn't question it. She just helped Emily sit up straight, got her seat belt on her so it was comfortable and wouldn't hurt her, and then hopped out of the truck.

"Jack," she called to her husband as she pulled him away from the driver who had rudely been honking at Jack for blocking the road, despite Jack having shouted how sick his daughter was. The driver, now terrified, seemed very thankful Ellie had come to take the big, scary farmer away.

"She wants to go home."

"Of course she does. She's probably traumatized after what you did…"

"Maybe. Most likely. But she wants to see Mike."

"He's welcome to visit…"

"We're going to visit."

"What?"

"It worked."

"Don't think this gives you any rights to say I told you so," Jack shook his head and climbed into the driver's seat of the truck. He looked over his shoulder and saw Emily leaning against the window looking like she was ready to pass out again, "Where to, sweetheart?"

"I need to see Mike. I don't care if he's in Panorama. I have to make sure he's okay."

"Whatever you say," Jack said to her comfortingly and then glared to wife, "You, call Ji and explain everything. I want him at the house to make sure none of Emily's injuries are too bad."

Ellie nodded her head and pulled out her cell phone as Jack started the truck and drove down the street and into Panorama City. Emily looked out through the window. She could feel her stomach turning and could still see some ghosts haunting her in this dead town, but it wasn't as bad as she thought. She had done everything she could. It was unfortunate the people had to die or get hurt. It was unfortunate so many had to suffer, but she had done her part. She and the other Samurai, as well as all the generations before them had sacrificed more than anyone should. If she wanted to continue helping, there was more she could do, but she no longer felt the guilt or the obligation to keep fighting for the city.

After a half hour drive, Emily recognized Serena and James' house, and stumbled out of the truck before her dad could fully stop the vehicle. She raced inside the house, limping slightly as she did and called Mike's name.

"What the…?" Mike came down the stairs, unable to believe his eyes. He had only just left Emily on the farm, convinced she wouldn't be coming back to him anytime soon.

Emily leapt in his arms and hugged him tight. He caught her and had to double take, seeing all the cuts, bruises and burns on her body.

"Em, what happened? Are you okay?"

Emily buried her face in Mike's neck, "We did it. We saved the world. We did our best and it worked!"

"Yeah, Em, but what happened to you. Why are you…?"

"I get it, Mike," she put hand behind his neck and pulled him in for a kiss, "I finally get it!"

"Okay, but are you…?"

"I'm really tired," Emily's excitement finally settled. She continued to hold Mike, not wanting to let him go, but rested her head on his shoulder, "I've had about eighteen years' worth of war crammed into a day."

Mike held her up but walked to the living room and sat down on the couch. He kept her in his arms and rubbed her back soothingly until she fell asleep in his arms. It didn't take her very long. Just as she passed out, her parents walked into the room. Mike gave them both a glare.

"What did you do to her?" he gestured to the cuts, bruises, and burns on her body.

Ellie started to back away slowly, "Alright, can we all agree that it did work out in the end? And the reward was certainly worth the risk?"

"No," but Jack and Mike answered.

Ellie took Emily's Samuraizer out of her pocket and set it down, "What if I promise to never ever touch that thing again."

"It's a start," Jack muttered.


	22. Complicated Parenting

Kevin had never been the natural father type. From the moment he and Mia started discussing children he had been scared to death of fatherhood. He knew that word meant caring for something so small, so young, and so defenceless. He had done amazing things in his time, and now saving the world was something he had bragging rights to. For two years he had faced Nighlok, monsters, and horrible people in general, and just recently he had faced the most evil of all: Xandred.

And yet, he felt more confident about being the protector of the earth than he did about becoming a father. Especially after the night he had.

Mia slept with Riley in her room to sooth and comfort her. With Riley's comfort with Kevin at an ultimate low, Mia needed to make sure Riley still felt safe in the house and was bending backwards to please the child. Kevin lay awake in his bed, staying in way past the time he usually got up and he looked up at the ceiling. He should have bent over backwards for her. He should have just forgotten all about the bowl and the name calling and the yelling. She was still just a child who recently lost everything. He couldn't give her ultimate freedom to walk all over him, but some battles just weren't worth the fight.

"Kevin?" he heard his name and sat up. Mia stood by the door with her hands placed gently on Riley's shoulders. The little girl looked like she didn't want to be in the room, but she wasn't putting up a fight. Mia gave Riley a very gentle push, moving her forward, "Riley has something she wants to say."

"I'm sorry I pushed you," Riley muttered and then she looked up at Mia, "Can I go watch TV _now_?"

Mia nodded and stepped out of the way, letting Riley race off to the living room. Kevin's jaw dropped slightly in awe. He couldn't believe Mia made Riley apologize to him. He couldn't believe she got her to stand in the same room as him.

"She told me what happened. Her version," Mia explained. She had already heard Kevin's version on her way home after getting the call that Riley had been hurt, but thought it was fair to ask Riley to tell her side of the story. The little girl hadn't been kind to Kevin with her story, but the message was very clear. Riley did hate Kevin, and there would never be a quick fix to that. "I guess that means I'm sorry too. I shouldn't have pushed it. You two need a little more time."

"Time's not going to help," Kevin muttered. "I've pushed her down the stairs twice! What kind of father pushes his daughter down the stairs…"

"She wasn't your daughter when you pushed her," Mia shook her head, "And everyone says you didn't mean to hurt her. I trust that. You never would. And this time, she pushed you and tripped. That stuff happens to the best of parents. When I was a baby, Sobo was carrying me down the stairs, she tripped, and I slipped right out of her hands and fell to the ground. I don't remember any of it. I was too young. But apparently I screamed for hours and I hated Sobo for about a week."

"You hated your grandmother?" Kevin had a look of shock on his face while Mia nodded her head and chuckled.

"You know, before my parents left me with Sobo, she and I weren't really that close. Not as close as we are now. I wasn't exactly happy about the change in my life, either. Sobo said I was a huge pain in the butt the first couple of months. But she stuck it out, and she stuck by me. No matter how much I hated her, and no matter how badly I treated her, she was always there for me. Kids do know that. You just need time to show Riley you do like her."

"Supervised?" Kevin asked and groaned, "I don't trust myself with her."

"You have to. You have to be confident or she's going to walk all over you like she did last night. This isn't like training Mike and Emily. Riley's just a little girl. She's going to hate you. She's going to be very mean to you. You have to set your boundaries, though."

"I tried," Kevin groaned and lay back in the bed, "I asked her to put her dishes away, and a war broke out. Next thing I know, she's screaming bloody murder and I'm frozen to the ground."

"What if we take her skating, later?" Mia offered. "I'll be with you, and the rink is right outside one of my favourite venues from the night before. You can get a quick glance at it. Just keep the wedding talk to a minimum. Riley's not happy about it at all."

"Skating? Mia, she sprained her wrist…"

"Between the two of us, she's not going to need to use it once," Mia gave Kevin a kiss on the cheek, "You know how to skate, right?"

"Yeah."

"Good," Mia smirked and then left the room. Kevin let out a sigh and prayed this family trip wouldn't end badly. He and Riley were chaos when they were together, and it always ended badly for her. Kevin wouldn't let it happen again.

Then he remembered something important and sat up straight in bed, "Mia doesn't know how to skate…"

-Samurai-

After explaining her dreams to a very worried Mike, and having her injuries checked by Ji and Kate, who had to rush home from Kate's family's house after getting the call, Emily was passed out on the couch. Though she had been asleep for more than a day, her brain had been working overtime and she felt like she had been awake for days.

Mike gently draped a blanket over Emily and left her to sleep as he joined his in-laws, Kate, and Ji in the kitchen. He was happy Emily was finally back home and staying home, but he still couldn't get over the Symbol Ellie had used. It had worked for the best, fortunately, but Mike knew things could have ended terribly. He shot Ellie a dirty look before sitting down.

"Don't I at least get points for curing her?" Ellie asked with a groan, "If I hadn't used that Symbol, she would still be at home and we would be no closer to getting our Emily back."

"No," Mike shook his head, "I'm happy she's back, but no. If she hadn't of woken up when she did, we could have lost her. You know damn well we could have lost her."

"She's stronger than that," Ellie argued.

"She's also stubborn," Mike pointed his finger at Jack, "He's right. Emily never would have given up trying to save everybody. If I hadn't of died protecting her, she'd be torn apart. She would be dead!"

"If it helps, it's never happening again," Ellie promised and again she gave away the Samuraizer by putting it in the middle of the table. Kate quickly snatched it away.

"I'll hold on to it," she said. Ji held out his hand.

"In fact, we'll take all of these back," he looked to Mike specifically, "Though the Nighlok are gone and Earth is safe, we do not want to risk any of these falling into the wrong hands."

"But my Symbol Power…" Mike pouted, "Dude, I've trained years to get to where I'm at! You can't just take that all away from me…"

"Would you like to risk another wayward Symbol like the one used on your wife?"

Mike shook his head, but before he handed his Samuraizer to Ji he traced one final Symbol and suddenly the biggest bouquet of sunflowers anyone had ever seen appeared on the table. Only then did Mike place his Samuraizer in Ji's hand.

"It's still mine, though," he made sure the older man knew that, "You're just holding it for me."

"All Samuraizers will be placed under lock and key," Ji assured him and then looked to Kate, "I think it's time we leave now. "We can still get home in time to explain to your father what happened. He can come up with a story to tell he rest of your family."

Kate nodded her head and with Ji she said goodbye to everyone around the table. Just as they walked out the door, Serena, James, and Terran came home. Ji quickly explained he was taking Samuraizers for safe keeping and convinced Serena to hand hers over.

"I thought they were staying with Kate's family," Serena said as Mike walked into the hall to laugh at Serena, who was now no longer armed with her Samuraizer. She could no longer threaten him with Symbols when he did something she didn't like.

"We called them here," Jack announced as he walked in behind Mike. He gave his son in-law a light smack on the head for laughing at Serena. "There was a little accident…"

"What happened to Emily?" Serena pointed a sharp look at her father, and Mike was relieved to see she didn't just aim that look at him when she was angry. Anyone who had the misfortune of threatening Emily or pissing her off would receive that glare. Even her father.

"She's fine," Jack assured Serena and pointed to the living room. Serena saw Emily sleeping soundly on the couch, and then she saw all the cuts and burns. She turned back to her father, who was already pointing at the kitchen, "Your mother did that."

"Mom…" Serena growled and stomped down the hall until she reached the kitchen. Ellie got out of her chair and held her hands up defensively.

"Emily's feeling better and chose to come back home. It wouldn't have happened if I hadn't taken the risk."

"What risk?"

"All that matters is that she's safe and sound now."

"What did you do?"

"Serena!" a weight jumped on Serena's back as Emily woke up from her nap and attacked Serena with a hug. "I'm home! I get it now! I'm better!"

Emily slipped off Serena's back and let her turn around so they could hug each other properly. Serena gave her mother another glare before walking into the common room to listen as Emily explained what happened.

"Maybe it's time we leave too," Ellie said to Jack as she scurried to the front door and got ready.

"Serena's not going to hurt you," Jack said to his wife but Ellie shook her head.

"I know, but that look. I hate that look."

Mike and James watched them leave and Mike scratched the back of his neck nervously.

"Look, I don't like what you did but… I guess Emily wouldn't be here if you didn't do it so… thank you."

"She's my daughter," Ellie said. "I'd never let anything happen to her."

"Mhm," Jack rolled his eyes. He gave Terran a loving hug before he walked out the door, "I'll be in the truck."

"She'll still have nightmares," Ellie warned Mike quickly as she said her goodbyes to her grandson, and then waved to Emily and Serena in the other room.

"We all do. I'll take care of her."

Ellie nodded and walked out, joining Jack in the truck. Mike closed the door behind them, breathed out a sigh and then looked to James. He scratched the back of his neck.

"It's times like this where I remember I'm still new to this Samurai stuff. What happened?"

"Emily's home," Mike smiled brightly, "Pizza for dinner? You know, to celebrate?"

"I think we celebrate someone's return with their favourite food, not yours."

"Emily does like pizza. Besides, do you really want to eat ice-cream and cookies for dinner?"

"I'll call the pizza guy…"


	23. Skates, Slips, Falls,Interviews

_Author's Note: Happy New Year to all my readers out there!_

To Kevin and Mia's surprise, Riley was a natural skater. As soon as her feet touched the ice she was off and spinning circles around adults ten times her age.

To no one's surprise, Mia fell on her ass. Mia was talented in many things; fighting, swordsmanship, Symbol Power, being a mother, and Kevin would add being right to that list as well; but there were a few things she couldn't do and skating was one of them.

She landed on her butt yet again, and as Kevin helped her up to her feet, Riley skated around and giggled.

"BOOM! That's the sound you make when you hit the ground, Mia," Riley teased and then skated off again.

"How was this supposed to be bonding for Riley and me?" Kevin asked and this time he held Mia tight and he held her close, hoping to make it around the rink once without her falling.

"I thought I was a bit better than this," Mia muttered and nearly slipped again, but Kevin held her up, "At least she's having a good time, though. Maybe it'll take her mind off Kevin the child pusher…"

"Shh," Kevin hushed her and had a look around. He was trying his best to be a good parent, but he didn't want the whole city knowing he had already made a few big time mistakes.

"Just treat her like you would a deer. Don't get too close, but stay within a good distance so you can earn your trust, and then slowly approach her."

"I need to treat her like a deer?"

"Would you like a world war four?" Mia asked, "This time, we'll do it on a third floor so Riley can fall down two flights of stairs."

"SHH! Alright, I'll keep my distance just don't leave me alone with her again, got it?"

"Little bastards," Mia gave the look Kevin feared and his stomach turned, thinking for a moment she was talking with him. When he noticed she was looking over his shoulder he relaxed and then turned to see what had suddenly angered her.

A group of boys had come to the skating rink to play hockey. The rink wasn't too crowded and so their game mostly went uninterrupted, but Riley had gotten in the middle of their game and had started practicing her spins. When the boys asked her to move, her stubborn attitude told her it was a good idea to say no and give the boys a lecture on how they had to share the entire rink with everybody.

She barely made it the halfway point of her lecture when the boys started pushing her around and jabbing at her with their hockey sticks. Riley, with an anger and strength Kevin knew was powerful, tried to fight back, but she was smaller than the boys, at least half their age, and already had a sprained wrist to worry about. On top of that, the boys had come prepared to play hockey and were dressed in full equipment. Riley couldn't hurt them even a little bit, but they weren't afraid of fighting back.

"Stop it!" Riley shouted as one boy skated to the edge of the rink and started making snowballs to throw at her, while the other boys pushed her around and jabbed at her with their sticks. They were telling her to get off their part of the ice, but they weren't giving her the chance to skate away.

"HEY!" Mia's shout made everyone on the rink stop for a moment. Even Kevin felt scared when he heard it. It was Mia's protective mother voice and it was not to be defied.

Until Mia tried to move on the ice, slipped and fell on her ass. The people on the ice had to stifle their laugh, and the boys who had been scared by her yell laughed out loud and then continued to torment Riley. They knew Mia couldn't reach them, and even if she did find a way, they could outskate her.

Mia looked up at Kevin as she tried, ungracefully, to get up. She gave him a nod. Kevin shook his head. She nodded again.

"Whether she likes you or not, you are her father."

"Mia, I pushed my daughter down the stairs," Kevin whispered very softly while looking around to make sure no one overheard him, "I want to punch those boys in the face. What if I actually do?"

"Kevin, you're a good father, and you're a good person. If I can keep myself in check while dealing with kids, surely you have no problem staying disciplined."

"Disciplined," Kevin liked that word, and he was sure Mia used it on purpose. He did pride himself on restrain and self-control. Not only had it been needed for him as a Samurai, but to achieve his goal of being a swimmer in the Olympics, he needed to stick to a schedule, follow a pre-planned routine, and adhere to a strict diet that didn't allow him to indulge in the very tempting sweets and goodies on a regular basis like the others.

All of which were tasks very few could stick to for such a lengthy periods of time.

Certainly he could control himself long enough to avoid causing any harm to the kids picking on his daughter.

Though a snowball to catch their attention wouldn't be crossing the line. He gathered some snow in his hand, made sure it was just snow, and then threw it at the kid currently jabbing Riley in the side. The snowball hit his back, taking his attention away from the little girl so he could see who had the nerve to hit him.

Kevin skated over to the boy and snatched his hockey stick from his hand. He tossed it away from the ice and into the snow and gave the kid what he hoped was a threatening protective father glare.

"What do you think you're doing, kid?"

"N-nothing," the kid was shaking in his skates and his friends made sure to keep their distance. They were still young enough to be terrified of being yelled at by an adult.

"Keep it that way. Hit the puck, not people. Got it?"

The boy nodded his head nervously and when Kevin turned his back he skated to the edge, grabbed his hockey stick and then raced off with his friends.

Kevin gently picked up Riley, surprised she would let him touch her after what had happened the day before.

"I'll take you to Mia," Kevin assured her and skated to the other side of the rink, where Mia had crawled to bench and was taking off her skates. She had just gotten her boots back on when Riley was lowered on to her lap.

"You're a lot of trouble, kid," Mia told her and gave her a warm and comforting hug. Riley nestled into her arms, a little hurt after being picked on. "Are you okay?"

"I hate them," Riley muttered and buried her face in Mia's shoulder. The pink Ranger gently stroked Riley's back and gave Kevin a bright smile.

"Riley, what do you say to Kevin, who saved you?"

"I don't hate him as much," Riley said but Mia shook her head. Kevin shrugged his shoulders. Riley's words were already more than enough for him. Riley could tell Mia was asking for more and pulled away to shake her head in disagreement, "But he…"

"You pushed him and tripped down the stairs, remember?" Mia said, "We talked about this, Riley. Kevin didn't mean to hurt you. So what do you say to Kevin now?"

Riley let out a loud huff and a groan, "Thank you, meanie Kevin."

Hearing those words made Kevin smile, "Anytime, Riley. Hey, did you see when Mia fell on her butt?"

Riley nodded her head and Kevin could see she was trying not to laugh, not wanting to show any sign of agreeing with or getting along with Kevin just yet, but Kevin still decided to milk it. Riley had had a rough few days now and he wanted to see her laugh or at least smile, "Her legs came out from under her. Just like in a cartoon."

A smile tugged on Riley's lips and she nodded her head, "I feeled your boom from the other side of the ice."

"Yeah, yeah," Mia stood up, holding Riley in her arms, "I suck at this, I know I do. You don't have to rub it in."

"You made a funny face too," Riley started to laugh as she teased Mia.

"Did not!"

"Yeah! Kevin, Mia made a funny face when she fell, right?" Riley looked over and Kevin made a face for her, imitating the one Mia made when she realized she was falling down. Mia turned around, saw the look, and playfully shoved Kevin.

"I did not make a face!"

"You made that one!" Riley pointed to Kevin who continued making the face just to annoy Mia and make Riley laugh. "And you screamed."

"No, I…"

"Yeah! Stop lying," Riley teased, "Kevin, Mia screamed, right?"

"Like a banshee," Kevin nodded.

"Neither of you are getting ice-cream," Mia muttered and put Riley in Kevin's arms so she could walk away from them and sulk. Kevin took off his skates and then he helped Riley with hers, all while teasing Mia about how she had fallen and how much she had fallen.

Eventually, they made it home. As Mia helped Riley up the driveway (which was slippery from ice and Riley couldn't resist insisting she was the one helping Mia up), Kevin noticed someone standing on their porch and peeking in through the window. He walked ahead and greeted the peeping woman, startling her slightly.

"Can I help you?" he asked.

The woman nodded, straightened out her glasses and then looked down at the clipboard in her hands, "I'm looking for the home of Mia Watanabe and Kevin…"

"You found it," Kevin told her, "Can I help you?"

"You're the guardians for Riley Walker?"

Kevin nodded his head and gestured to the little girl helping Mia up the driveway and laughing. The woman gave a little nod and then held out her hand.

"Sabrina Clarkson. I'm here to ask you and Miss Watanabe a few questions."

"Wait? I thought this wasn't for another couple of months…"

"That's what we say," Sabrina nodded her head, "but the best time to talk to parents is when they aren't expecting a visit. No time to clean up the house or talk to the kids beforehand. I feel like a get a better feel of what the home is like, and I can pass a better judgement. If you have nothing to hide, this will only take a couple of hours."

Mia overheard the conversation as she and Riley walked up to the house and shrugged her shoulders. She and Kevin did have nothing to hide, but Mia knew how kids could stretch the truth. Kevin was a great father, but the few accidents at the start weren't great stories for the social worker to hear, and they wouldn't work in favour for Kevin, Mia, or even Riley.

"Shall we head inside?" Sabrina asked and pointed to the door. Mia nodded her head and unlocked the door, letting everyone inside. Kevin hesitated for a moment and stood on the porch while Mia, Sabrina, and Riley took off their winter clothes.

"Kevin," Mia called him inside and gave him a comforting smile, "We're going to be fine. We're just going to be honest with her."

"Honesty, right," Kevin gulped and walked inside. He took off his jacket and his boots but his hands were shaky. Sabrina watched from the living room and seemed to be taking notes.

Riley had been told to play in her room, but she was curious about the new lady, and while Mia and Kevin went to prepare drinks and a few snacks for the interviews, Riley decided to approach the woman.

But not without her pink Ranger mask on, of course. She was shy around new people, but with the mask she could do anything.

"Who are you?"

Sabrina saw the little pink Ranger and smiled, "I'm Sabrina. I'm just here to help. A lot of people want to make sure you're going to be taken care of. You and I are going to talk about it later."

"Mia is taking care of me," Riley said. "I like her."

"That's good," Sabrina said, "but we'll talk later, Riley, okay?"

"I don't like meanie Kevin as much," Riley showed her pink splint to Sabrina, "He did this to me. He pushed me down the stairs and my new Auntie taked me to the hospital."

"He pushed you down the stairs?" Sabrina looked to Riley curiously and took down a few more notes in her journal. Riley nodded, but then quickly changed to shake her head no.

"I mean, I tripped and falled down the stairs. Mia said I'm supposed to say that. She says it was an accidently."

"Really?" Sabrina was very intrigued now, and couldn't write the notes down fast enough. She had worked with kids and families for a few years now and knew that kids were sometimes a lot more honest than their caregivers.

"But meanie Kevin can be nice. We goed skating today and big kids picked on me. But meanie Kevin yelled at them and made them scared."

"He did?"

"Riley," Mia called and gestured for Riley to go upstairs, "You can talk to her later. Why don't you go play with some of your Christmas toys?"

"Can I show her my costume?"

"Later, yes," Mia promised and Riley raced off to her bedroom to get dressed in her pink Ranger costume while Mia and Kevin took a seat on the couch opposite of Sabrina while setting down a tray of snacks. Kevin looked over and saw Sabrina's journal already had a ton of notes in it and his stomach turned.

"I couldn't help but notice," Sabrina started and Kevin already feared her voice. He had to remind himself he was a good father and he was trying his best to give Riley a safe home. Sabrina continued, "Riley's got a splint on her wrist. What if we started there?"


	24. Where Kids Die

Kevin tapped his foot nervously. The interview with the social worker was… going.

There were a lot of questions to be asked. After explaining to Sabrina how Riley sprained her wrist (a story which didn't work in Kevin or Mia's favour), as well as why Riley calls Kevin a meanie, and the incident at the skating rink where Riley claimed Kevin had scared a group of young boys, Sabrina asked questions that were more on topic with Kevin and Mia's personal life, their relationship, their families, friends, their reasons for adopting Riley, their reason for adopting in general, what their plans for the future were, how they were going to move forward with a four year old to care for, and whether or not they thought they were ready to adopt.

Mia, who had gone into the interview with a lot more confidence than Kevin was now nervously playing with her hair. For every good story she had to tell, a bad one seemed to pop out of nowhere. The time she found out she couldn't have kids and left Kevin and her friends behind didn't sit well with the social worker. Kevin being present both times Riley fell down the stairs (whether he had anything to do with it or not), we jotted down in what was sure to be the bad parents column of the notebook. Mia told Sabrina how she always wanted to have a family and be a mother, and how she had plenty of experience with kids after working in a daycare, but when Sabrina asked why Mia quit that job, Mia couldn't tell her why and suddenly an innocent, good person story turned into a questionable parenting moment.

What made it all worse was how kind Sabrina was. She never intentionally gave Mia and Kevin the impression that they were bad people or that they would fail as parents, but her job was to make sure Riley had a good home and was in the best hands.

So while Sabrina had a look around the house on her own, Mia and Kevin looked to each other very nervously. Both had bonded with Riley, and while they had had their sets of trials, both couldn't imagine losing her. Riley, already, had made it clear she wanted to stay close to Mia now that her family was gone, and though she didn't like Kevin, forcing her to leave this house and these new parents was going to hurt her more than help. Riley had been through so much change and so much loss in only a month. She couldn't afford anything more.

"The house seems to be in order," Sabrina came back into the living room while taking down notes in the dreaded journal, "I'd just like to have a few more words with Riley and then on my way out, it would be helpful if I got a list of numbers and addresses. I'd like to have a talk with some friends and family."

"Yeah, of course," Mia was up on her feet right away to get a pen and a paper for Sabrina. Kevin continued to sit in his seat. Though Mia had a few questionable moments in her past, he felt like his failures with Riley were what was going to cost him and Mia their daughter. After all, Mia had a way with words and a way with people, and given the way she spoke about Riley and about being a mother made Kevin convinced she would be awesome mother, given the chance.

But Kevin was visibly more nervous than Mia, could barely get his words out, and when they did, it always put a bit of a sour look on Sabrina's face. Riley hated him, and he had done nothing to earn her love or her trust, and it was painfully obvious the idea of having kids and starting a family terrified him. It was a good kind of terror, and Kevin knew he would do his very best, but Sabrina didn't know that and she had no way of knowing that.

Kevin felt horribly guilty. If he couldn't pass this interview, Riley would be taken from him and Mia. She would lose her home, lose the only people left in the world she did trust, and Mia would lose her one chance at having a normal family. If he failed this interview, there was no way anyone would ever let him and Mia adopt a child together – or so he believed.

Now he understood the pain, the guilt, and the heartbreak Mia felt when she had been told she couldn't have kids. Now he understood why she had taken off so suddenly and left him behind. Knowing he couldn't give her the family she wanted made him feel… horrible couldn't even describe it.

"We're good people," Mia reminded him once Sabrina was upstairs with Riley, "We're good people and we're going to be great parents. Just relax."

But Kevin couldn't relax.

-Samurai-

Sabrina knocked gently on Riley's bedroom door before she opened it and saw Riley dressed as the pink Samurai Ranger jumping on the bed and knocking over toys, claiming to be destroying them as the mighty pink Samurai Ranger. Sabrina chuckled and waved, getting Riley's attention.

"I'm here to talk."

Riley landed seated on her bed and looked to Sabrina. With the mask covering her face, she had nothing to fear. She had just saved the whole population of her bedroom from the evil Kevin Meanie monster. No one could hurt her.

"You talked with Mia and meanie Kevin for a long time," Riley said, "I saved the world."

"I see that," Sabrina nodded and saw all the toys on the floor, "You look like you kicked butt."

Riley nodded her head while Sabrina grabbed the desk chair to have a seat. She looked to Riley's splint and wanted to hear one more time the story behind it. Riley was all too eager to share.

"Mia says it was just an accident, but I still don't like meanie Kevin," Riley answered and then started to play with her blanket.

"Why do you call him meanie Kevin?"

"Because he's a meanie," Riley said like it was obvious, which it was, but Sabrina just needed to be sure.

"What makes him a meanie? Does he do anything specifically that you don't like?"

"He grabbed me when I don't want him to and he tried to lock me in my room. That's why I falled down the stairs."

"He grabbed you? What does that mean?"

"I watched TV and he picked me up, yell at me, and then telled me I have to go to bed."

"And you didn't like that?"

"No."

"But I'm sure Kevin does have some moments where he's nice. Why don't you tell me about one of those?"

Riley shook her head, "Kevin is a big meanie. He's not a nice person."

Sabrina nodded and with concern wrote down a few notes in her journal. She knew kids told different stories and sometimes accidentally exaggerated the facts, but she wasn't getting anything good from Riley where Kevin was concerned. Instead, given everything she had heard, there was certainly something going on in the house.

"What about Mia? She seems nice."

"Mia protects me," Riley nodded her head. "From bad guys."

"From bad guys?"

"She promised she taked care of me. She pinky promised."

"So you like Mia?"

Riley nodded her head excitedly, "Mia's the bestest."

Sabrina jotted down a few more notes and now her head was spinning. Fortunately, she still had a few more interviews with friends and family before she made up her mind.

But she did have one more question for Riley. It was one she asked any child who could give her a clear answer, "Do you like living here, Riley? If everything goes well, you're going to be staying here for a long time with Mia and Kevin. They'll take care of you. Both of them."

"I want to stay with Mia."

"What about Kevin? Do you trust him?"

"I don't like him."

"Do you trust him, though? Like, do you think he'll take good care of you?"

"Mia promised she would."

"What about when Mia's not around?"

"Me alone with meanie Kevin? No. I don't like him."

Sabrina took down the last of her notes for now and closed her book. She excused herself from Riley's room and thanked the little girl for helping her. Riley watched her leave for a moment and then decided to follow her to the end of the hall. Sabrina walked down the stairs and started to talk with Mia and Kevin as they gave her a paper. Riley hid behind the banister and kept quiet as she listened.

"Our parents are on there, and Riley's aunts and uncles are there too," Mia explained, "There's a star beside all the names of the people who will be in Riley's life a lot if she stays here."

"J-just out of curiosity," Kevin was fidgeting nervously and couldn't keep eye contact with Sabrina, still terrified he had failed, "What happens to Riley if we can't keep her?"

"She'll go to the orphanage and hopefully some other family will take her in," Sabrina answered and let out a sigh, "Look, I don't want that to happen either. After that apocalypse the orphanage is full, all the foster homes are filled, and there are a lot more kids just dying for someone to take care of them. I am rooting for the two of you, but I've got to be realistic when I make the call. The orphanage is a terrible place right now, but if Riley's going to stay somewhere permanently, especially after all she's been through, it's got to be the perfect home."

"Perfect?" Kevin asked.

Sabrina nodded her head, "I'm doing what's best for the kid in the long run. You'll get your answer soon enough, and if you do keep her, there will be some follow up visits. Just to be sure she's settling in okay and this isn't too much. You two are still young and… well, have a good day."

"You too," Mia and Kevin said as they walked Sabrina out and then looked to each other nervously. It didn't mean much, but Sabrina hadn't stormed out of the house with Riley in tow. For now, they had done well enough to keep her in their care until the interviews could be completed and Sabrina could make a final decision.

Riley didn't like what she heard one bit. She didn't understand much of what the social worker had said, but there were a few words that stuck in her mind, and her little imagination filled in the blanks. Before Kevin or Mia could see her, she raced back to her room and started grabbing some of her toys. Tears started to cloud her little eyes and she wiped them away.

"It's okay," she told her Samurai bear who was watching her stuff her toys into her backpack, "We'll find somewhere else we can stay."

She was silent for a moment while she packed and heard a little voice inside her head. It was her bear's imagined voice. She shook her head.

"Meanie Kevin doesn't like me. I thinked Mia did but Kevin won. That lady is going to take us to the orphan… I don't know what it is, but other kids are dying there."

She was silent again so her bear could speak. She crammed all her toys into her bag and zipped it up.

"No, if we stay here the lady will take us to the dying place. Do you want to die? Me neither. So we have to go."

Riley put the bag on her shoulders and then hugged her bear in her arms, "I'll taked care of you again. We're going to be okay. But be quiet."

Riley tip-toed out of her room and down the stairs. Mia and Kevin were in the kitchen and talking to each other. Riley listened for a moment, just curious about what they were thinking.

"She's going to hate it there, Mia, and it's not like she's the easiest of kids. How many problems have we had already?"

"No kid is easy, Kevin."

"I know, I know. But Riley's a lot of trouble. It takes a special set of people to love her. What if there's no one else for her out there?"

"You can't think that way, Kevin. Let's just get this over with and whatever happens, we'll worry about it then."

Riley felt her little heart breaking. She stroked the top of her bear's head.

"Don't cry," she whispered, "We have each other."

She gave her bear a hug and decided she would sneak out the back door. She slid the door open, squeezed herself and her bear out and then ran to the gate. With a little work she got the lock to open and race out to the street. She didn't know where to go but she didn't have anywhere to be so she just started walking.

She made it a couple of blocks before she found a bus bench. A little tired and not used to walking so far by herself, she decided it was best to take a seat, and her bear took the seat next to her. She watched a little traffic go by. The city was coming back to life, and there were more and more cars on the road, but it still wasn't back up to what it used to be. Riley found herself spending more time staring at the bank across the street. It was closed, but that didn't stop two men wearing masks from getting inside.

"Uh oh," Riley whispered and hugged her bear close as she slipped off the bench. She looked both ways and then darted across the street. When she was on the other side, she placed her bear and her bag against the wall of the building and pulled down her Samurai mask.

"I saw this on TV. I think they want money. But the hero always makes them scared. Maybe we can do that. Be superheroes like the real Power Rangers. Watch, but stay quiet."

Riley snuck into the bank and saw the two men were sitting behind one of the desks and they were on the computer. Riley pulled out her toy sword and held it up.

"Stop, bad guys!"

The men were startled by the voice, but when they looked up and saw a little girl in a pink Ranger costume they laughed and shook their heads.

"Get out of here, kid. This is grown up business."

"What are you doing?"

"Just stuff. Go find your parents."

"No, you have to stop! I'm the good guy and I said so."

"Riley? Is that you?"

The men looked up again, hearing another voice as someone else walked into the bank. The men quickly shut off the computer and ducked behind a desk.

"Riley? Are you in here?"

Riley groaned loudly, rolled her eyes and turned around, "What are you doing here?"

Emily shook her head. She had only recently come back to the city and Mike had promised her Panorama was looking better than before. She wanted to see for herself, and she also wanted to do something to help. She had plans to earn her high school diploma and then start college courses, but she had enough time to volunteer around the city. Mike, Serena, and James all thought it would help her, and they all insisted volunteer work would look great for a college application. She was going around the city hoping she could find a little inspiration or a place that needed her help.

When she walked by the bank and saw the door opened, in spite of the closed sign hanging in the window, she got curious. Then she saw a pink Samurai Ranger backpack and a pink Samurai Ranger teddy bear lying on the sidewalk and was really curious. Riley did have a habit of running off, and no one else in the city loved the pink Ranger more than Riley. Not even Kevin could have a love for pink as deep as Riley's.

"I'm stopping the bad guys," Riley huffed. She pointed to the desk, "They're right there."

"Where are Mia and Kevin?"

"Home."

"Then that's where you should be. No more games, Riley," Emily leaned over to pick Riley up but the little girl ran to the desk. She rounded it and pointed to the space underneath.

"Kid!" the men tried to keep their voices low, "Get lost. We're working!"

"Money people don't wear masks," Riley shook her head, "My daddy used to work here and he never weared a mask."

"Go away, kid," the men growled again.

Emily could hear some whispers and walked over to the desk. She saw Riley was talking so someone she couldn't see. She knew kids had active imaginations, imaginary friends, and they played make-believe all the time, but normally the pretend scenarios were all just pretend, and the fake people didn't actually speak.

"Is someone really there?"

"Yeah, right…" Riley was interrupted by a bang. She jumped a couple inches off the ground and covered her ears. The loud noise had terrified her, but for the most part she was okay.

Until she was lifted from the ground, "HEY! Put me down!"

"Log out, Matt!"

"SHH!"

"C'mon, let's go!"

"PUT ME DOWN!" Riley screamed and started punching the back of the man who had her over his shoulder. He gave her a rough smack on the butt.

"Shut up, kid. You've done enough."

"I'm out," Matt said as he shut off the computer and reached for the bag he had placed beside his desk, but then he saw it was gone, "What? Hey, you got the bag?"

"No, but I've got the kid. Just get out of here."

"Not without that bag. All of this means nothing if we don't get the…" Matt was cut off as something whacked him in the back of his head. It hurt and knocked him to the floor.

Emily leaned against the desk and turned to the other man after hitting Matt in the head with his bag, "Put the kid down!"

"Yeah!" Riley shouted and tried punching the man in the back again.

"OW! Stop it, you!"

As the man tried to get Riley to settle down, Emily looked down at her legs. The man holding Riley had a gun somewhere on him, and had fired it once Emily got too close to the desk. She had been hit in the calf, and her entire leg hurt like hell, but she had survived much worst at the hands of the Nighlok, and as long as she kept her weight on the other leg, she could at least get the men to leave her and Riley alone.

But there was no way in hell they was getting away with Riley. Ji had taken her Samuraizer, but Emily still had a few tricks up her sleeve. She didn't need her Samuraizer.

"STONE!"

"Holy…," before he could say another word, the man holding Emily was hit in the jack by one of Emily's rocks. He fell backwards and landed on top of Riley who screamed. Emily tried to limp over, but someone grabbed her ankle and she tripped.

Matt climbed on top of her and pinned her down, "What are you, some kind of magician?"

"Sure," Emily nodded her head and tried to get out from under Matt but he was a heavy man, "If you spent less money on food, maybe you wouldn't have to resort to stealing."

"Maybe if the Samurai did their jobs and protected the city, I wouldn't have to…" Matt started but then stopped. He looked to Emily and then over to where his partner was doing everything he could to shut Riley up as she whacked him with her toy sword. It was only plastic, but it did look like it hurt.

Then he saw the stone Emily created. He sat on her, keeping her down and reached for his bag. He pulled out his own gun and in his rush, he dropped a few bills. The bank wasn't the only place he and his partner had tried to rob.

"I had a daughter too. Before you let her die," he pressed the gun against Emily's chest and laughed when he saw she looked terrified.

"That's not nice!" Riley saw what Matt was doing, smacked her sword into the other man's nose which hurt quite a bit given it was broken. It gave her enough room to run towards Matt. Emily heard the little footsteps coming towards her and closed her eyes.

"Riley, no!"

A shot was fired and Emily heard a scream.


	25. Wanted

Riley didn't mean for anything to happen. She had just wanted to avoid being taken to the orphanage where, as she believed, kids were dying.

She didn't know how or why, but while trying to convince the bad guys not to rob a bank, Emily had turned up. Riley didn't know Emily very well, but she did remember meeting her and they had fun together. Riley had tried to convince her she was being a hero when suddenly the bad guys pulled out guns.

The little girl was young, but she wasn't stupid. Emily's leg was bleeding, and the first shot to be fired was the reason why. Emily had been in the leg, but it didn't keep her down for too long. Riley couldn't explain how, but Emily had found a rock inside the bank and she hit one of the robbers right in the face with it before she had to wrestle with his partner Matt while Riley took on the first guy. She managed to hit him in the nose and that gave her enough time to get away from him and help Emily, who was pinned under Matt and had a gun pointed to her chest.

She still wore her pink Ranger costume, and with the mask she felt brave. She ran towards Matt and Emily, screaming for him not to hurt her aunt when another shot was fire. Riley let out a cry and dropped to the ground, but aside from a bruised knee and a couple of scrapes, she wasn't hurt.

"Dave! SHIT! SHIT! SHIT!"

"What the hell is wrong with you!?" Dave shouted as Matt got up off Emily to apologize to his partner for shooting at him. The bullet had missed Riley. Matt hadn't had time to aim properly. Instead of hitting her, it grazed the side of Dave's arm, leaving only a scrape, a very pissed off Dave, and a hole in the wall behind him.

Emily rolled over, grabbed Riley who was curled up in a ball on the floor and pulled her into her arms. She wrapped herself around the little girl, made herself as small as possible and traced another Symbol on the floor with her finger. Suddenly, rocks and earth came up from the ground, breaking through the floor and surrounded Emily and Riley in a small, but very impenetrable cave.

Matt and Dave saw this and their jaws dropped.

"Kid's a fucking Power Ranger!" Dave cried out as Matt helped him up to his feet.

"A Ranger who let my daughter die," when Dave was steady on his feet, Matt let him go and tried to shoot his gun again, but the bullet wouldn't break through the rocks. He wanted to try again, but he could hear sirens going off and knew the police were on their way. The city was still quiet, but by now someone must have heard the shots and called the cops. The men tried to run, but found themselves falling into a hole that filled itself up with sand. They couldn't climb out.

Inside the rocks, Emily held Riley tightly and hushed her to keep quiet. The rocks would muffle some of the sounds she made, but not all. Promising Riley they would be safe, and adding that Mia would come and find them soon made Riley quiet down just enough for Emily to listen to what was happening outside the rock. She heard sirens and cars stopping. Footsteps and shouts from the police, and cries for help from Matt and Dave.

"In the rock! In the rock!" either Matt or Dave shouted as they tried to convince the cops they had been attacked by a Samurai Ranger – claiming truthfully that they had seen Emily using magic powers which had created the stone that broke Dave's nose, the sand traps inside the bank, and the rock that protected her and Riley. Suddenly, the rock was pushed over, and Emily had to bite her tongue to keep herself from screaming and scaring Riley.

"I don't know what you guys are trying to pull," one of the cop's voices said, "but there's no way there's anyone in this rock. The Samurai Rangers abandoned the city weeks ago."

"But… but…"

"Is this your bag?" another officer asked. "It's the stolen money from those stores, chief. Look at that, we did find the scum who've been robbing the grocery stores."

"Take them away," Emily figured it was the chief's voice, and he sounded stressed which was very understandable. Given what had happened, there was really no way to explain the sand traps, the stolen money, and the rocks inside what had once been a very nice bank.

"Riley," Emily whispered and put her mouth near Riley's ear, "I have enough energy to do one more Symbol. It's going to take us to the Shiba House. That's where Lauren, Mentor Ji, and Kate live. When they ask what happened, you tell them my leg hurts, and you tell them where you hurt, okay?"

"W-what ab-bout M-Mia?" Riley asked.

"She's going to find us, I promise. What do you tell Lauren, Mentor Ji, and Kate?"

"Your leg hurts."

"Good girl. Close your eyes."

"I can't see."

"Just close them."

-Samurai-

Lauren watched as Kate and Ji were taking down some of the Christmas decorations. It had been nearly a week since the holiday had come and gone, and the Christmas tree and all the other Santa related decorations were going to have to come down at some point. Kate had mentioned they were cleaning up for New Year's.

Lauren knew about the New Year. She knew that New Year's Eve was the last day of the year, and everyone had a big party to celebrate the first moments of the coming year. Though she hadn't celebrated it herself while training, she had always liked New Years. It was the very start of a year full of opportunities, and it put another year behind her, bringing her closer to the day she was reunited with her brother.

Now, it was the start of her life with her brother and her new family, and she was excited to put her past behind her. 2013 was going to be a great year, and Lauren planned on having an excellent time celebrating New Year's Eve the following day with all the Samurai.

"I'll explain some of the New Year's traditions to you later," Kate said as she and Ji worked on getting the Christmas tree outside.

Lauren watched from the couch with a smile. Considering Christmas had turned out so great, she expected New Year's to be amazing as well. Much better, even, considering this wasn't a new holiday for her. As she tried to come up with some ideas for games for the party, a light started to glow in the common room. It got brighter and brighter until suddenly a rock appeared over the table. Gravity had its way and the rock came crashing down, smashing the table underneath it as it landed with a loud, heavy thud.

"What the…?" Lauren got up from couch to inspect the rock and knocked on it.

"Auntie Lauren! HELP!"

"Riley?" Lauren could recognize the muffled voice anywhere, but had to take a moment to process where Riley's voice was coming from, "Where are… Are you inside the rock?"

"I think so! HELP!"

"You get yourself stuck in the weirdest places," Lauren muttered and picked up the box that had been sitting on the table before the rock had smashed it. Ji had collected a few of the Samuraizers but hadn't put them away just yet. Lauren used a Symbol to crack open the rock. It broke open, revealing itself to be hallow inside, but instead of Riley, Emily came out of it.

"What the…?" Lauren asked again before Emily started to move and Riley crawled out from under her, covered in blood. Lauren never felt her stomach jump so quickly up into her throat, nor had her heart ever stopped so suddenly. She grabbed the young girl and carried her over to the couch.

"What happened? Are you okay? Where are Mia and Kevin? Who did this to you? How did this happen? Where does it hurt, Riley?"

Riley, who was already crying, pointed to her knee and then showed Lauren her elbow. Neither had more than a couple of bruises and a few scrapes. They weren't enough to cover Riley in blood.

"And Emily's leg hurts."

Lauren looked over her shoulder. Emily did look very pale, and her legs and hands were covered in blood. She wasn't conscious, which didn't bode well, but Lauren knew Ji had her Samuraizer, and there was only one way Emily and Riley could have gotten inside a rock. Symbol Power without the Samuraizer could be very draining.

"I'll get you cleaned up," Lauren promised Riley and then covered her ears and screamed loudly. Ji and Kate were already on their way back inside when they heard the scream and they came racing into the common room.

Lauren took Riley in her arms and hurried her off to her bathroom to wash her up and make sure the scrapes were the worst of Riley's injuries. She passed by Kate and Ji, who just saw the mess in the common room.

"I would explain, but I can't and there's no time," Lauren said quickly as she raced off. She carried the still crying Riley into her bathroom, closed the door and set the little girl down on the toilet while she started to fill the tub with warm water. Riley hugged her knees to her chest.

"I wanted to stop the bad guys, but they no listened."

"They don't normally," Lauren shook her head and muttered. As the tub filled with water she turned around and gently took the mask off Riley's head, "What happened, Riles?"

"I don't want to die."

"You're not going to… where are Mia and Kevin?"

"A lady came and asked me a lot of questions. Then I heard her talking to Mia and meanie Kevin about taking me to an opha… opana… a place where kids die!"

"And orphanage?" Lauren asked and Riley nodded her head.

"Then Mia and Kevin talked about me being trouble and no one want me. So I left."

"What do you mean, no one wants you?" Lauren helped Riley get undressed and was relieved to see the scrapes were the worst of her injuries, but at the same time she was worried about the amount of blood that stained Riley's costume and was on Emily. She pushed that to the back of her mind for now, positive Ji and Kate would take care of it. She lifted Riley into the tub and grabbed a cloth to clean her off. "Riles, Mia loves you to pieces, and I know you and Kevin don't get along, but he cares about you too."

"No he don't. He telled Mia no one wants me."

"I promise you, they do," Lauren rubbed the blood of Riley and then pulled her out of the tub. She then cleaned out her scrapes and grabbed a box of bandages from the cabinet under her sink. They were Power Ranger bandages. Lauren couldn't resist when she had seen them on the shelf.

"Let me guess, you want… red Ranger?"

"Pink," Riley let herself smile a little bit as Lauren covered her scrapes with the bandages, and then she did something else. She kissed the bandage. Lauren couldn't explain it, but she did remember her mother doing that for her when she had gotten hurt, and for some reason it always made the pain go away.

"I have a shirt you can borrow," Lauren stepped out of the bathroom and grabbed a shirt for Riley to use as a nightgown until Mia and Kevin could take her home and dress her up in her own pyjamas. She slipped the shirt over Riley's head and then pulled her in for a hug, "I was really scared too when my parents died. I wish I had been as lucky as you, though."

"I'm not lucky. They don't want me."

"I'm sure they do," Lauren nodded her head. "And you know what, even if they don't, I do. No one's going to take you away. No one's going to hurt you, and you're not going to die in an orphanage. I don't know what you heard, Riley, but I think you heard wrong. Now, while we wait for Mia and Kevin, who I'm sure are worried sick about you, why don't we read a story?"

"Okay," Riley took Lauren's hand and walked with her to the bed. Lauren lifted her up, set her down on the mattress and then went to her bookshelf to find something appropriate to read to Riley, positive books about Samurai history and war would bore or terrify her.

"Here: The Ugly Duckling. I read this to Terran once. It's really cute."

"Auntie Lauren."

"Yeah."

"I like pink."

Lauren looked to Riley curiously, "I know you do."

"This shirt is red," Riley tugged on the collar of the shirt Lauren had given her and had a look of distaste. Lauren turned to her dresser and sighed.

"Sorry, kid, I don't have any pink."

"No pink?" Riley gasped. Lauren shook her head and then remembered something. Jayden had moved out, and he had taken almost everything with him, but Lauren had found something of his that he had forgotten. She pulled out a shirt from her closet and Riley smiled when she saw it was pink.

"It's Jayden's."

Riley looked up curiously at Lauren as they changed her shirt, "But he's a boy."

"Who didn't know how to do his own laundry, apparently," Lauren chuckled. "Even I know how to do that."

"Why does he have a pink shirt? How come you don't have one?"

"I like red."

"Ew."

"What do you mean, ew? Without red, there would be no pink."

"Red is stupid. Pink is best."

"I don't think…" Lauren was interrupted when Riley blew a raspberry. She tried to speak again, but Riley interrupted again. So Lauren decided to fight fire with fire and blew a raspberry at Riley.


	26. Not Letting Her Go

After a very restless sleep, Emily woke up and it took her a minute to realize where she was and how she had gotten there. But her memories of the bank came flooding back to her and she tried to sit up in a panic. Someone put their hands on her chest and gently pushed her back down into the couch.

"Careful, Em. Be very careful."

"Where's Riley?" Emily was now wide awake and looking around frantically for the little girl. Mike, who had been sitting beside her and waiting for her to wake up shook his head.

"She's fine. You need to calm down, Emily."

Emily nodded her head, took a deep breath and settled into the couch. She couldn't feel much pain in her leg, but remembered falling asleep with a bullet in her calf. She looked down and saw her left leg was bandaged from knee to ankle and she had a brace to keep her foot and leg in position. Mike shook his head and chuckled not because it was funny, but because he was relieved. Ji and Kate had called him, Serena, and James in a panic while trying to tend to Emily and could only manage to tell the worried husband that Emily had been shot. Fortunately, the shot was to the calf and went through the muscle and out the other side. From what Ji could tell, no major arteries were hit and, aside from the obvious injuries to the muscle, only the fibula was broken and was a concern. Ji was confident Emily would be okay, though walking would be out of the question for the next little while.

Emily didn't know this yet though, and so when she saw the cast and remembered the pain she groaned, "Aw, man…"

"I'm never letting you walk around the city by yourself ever again," Mike leaned in and gave Emily a kiss, "I thought finally now that the Nighlok were gone you would be okay, and yet you still manage to get hurt."

"Sorry," Emily whispered and suddenly a bag of peas was dropped on her stomach. Emily let out another groan before looking up. Serena stood by the side of the couch and glared down at her sister while shaking her head.

Mike held up his head, "I already told her we're never leaving her alone again."

"Good," Serena muttered and helped Emily with the peas by placing them on her leg for her. Emily let out a sigh of content as the cool peas started to numb the pain in her leg. "Scare me like that one more time, Emily, and I'll make sure you're dead. Got it?"

"So, I don't get a single _good job_ from any of you for saving Riley? She got me into this mess. If she hadn't of run away, I would have walked by that bank robbery without getting shot."

"Good job, Em," Mike gave Emily another kiss while Serena rolled her eyes.

"I'm still not letting you venture out into the city by yourself."

"I don't think you'll have to worry about that for a while," Emily pointed to her leg, "So…"

"Broken fibula," Serena told her, "You're lucky it wasn't worse, but you're right, you won't be walking again for a while. Ji says it'll hurt like a bitch if you try to put any weight on your leg."

"So piggy back rides?" Emily asked and held her hands up. "I saved Riley's life, I'm in pain, I want ice-cream."

"You should rest," Mike said. Emily shook her head.

"Do you know how many times I've come face to face with Xandred this month? Give me ice-cream and I'll be fine."

"I'll get you ice-cream," Serena groaned and started for the kitchen. Mike gently propped Emily up so he could sit down and he let her rest her head on his lap.

"So, we heard Riley's version of what happened through Lauren. Care to tell us a more reliable story?"

-Samurai-

Slowly, Riley could hear her family coming to the house and they all fussed over her or Emily, but Kevin and Mia had yet to turn up. With the scary orphanage and the thought of being taken away from Mia still at the back of her mind, Riley was starting to think Lauren was wrong, and her new adoptive parents didn't want her around.

She had fallen asleep while Lauren read to her, and woke up shortly after her new Uncles Jayden and Antonio came to check up on her. Since then, she had stayed in Lauren's room. Her toys and her pink Samurai bear had been left at the bank, and her Samurai costume was ruined from having to fight off the robbers. All Riley had with her was her pink Ranger masks.

Scared by herself, she put the mask over her face and hugged her knees to her chest. She rocked back and forth and tried to get the fight out of her head, but it wouldn't stop playing over and over again. It was now dark outside, and the only light Riley had in the room came from the bathroom. Her imagination got the best of her, and unaware the police had taken the robbers away, Riley worried they were hiding under her bed, waiting for her to touch the floor so they could snatch her. Tears started to form in her eyes and she wanted to call for someone, but she was scared that the robbers would hear her voice, jump out from under the bed and grab her.

Or maybe they were in the closet. Riley noticed Lauren had left it slightly opened. They could have been staring at her this very moment. Even with the mask on, Riley was still terrified.

Suddenly, the bedroom door opened and Riley let out a scream, thinking the robbers had found her and they were coming to get her, or the orphanage was going to take her and kill her. She hadn't forgotten about Mia and Kevin's plan to send her away with the lady so she would be killed. Riley dove under the blankets and screamed in terror.

"Riley, shh," it was Mia's voice, and the blankets were pulled away and Riley was lifted into a warm embrace. It felt safe and comfortable enough, so Riley clung to Mia.

"I don't want to die!" Riley cried into Mia's shoulder. The pink Ranger shook her head.

"You're not going to die, sweetheart."

"Yes, I am! The bad guys are going to take me. You don't want me anymore!"

Remembering she was angry with both Kevin _and_ Mia, Riley pulled away from her adoptive mother and ran from the room, pushing past Kevin who had been watching from the doorway. She ran down the halls of the big house until she finally saw the only face she really trusted and liked.

When Riley and Lauren first met, they had had a heart to heart. Lauren had opened up to Riley and shared some stories of her past so Riley would feel a little safer with her new family. They had a lot in common, and seemed to bond naturally. Riley liked Lauren almost as much as she had once liked Mia. So she jumped into the red Ranger's arms and buried her face in Lauren's chest.

"I wanna go home!"

Lauren hugged Riley and looked to Mia and Kevin sadly. She couldn't imagine how much this upset them. Mia especially, as she had done nothing but her best while trying to care for Riley. Unfortunately, Riley's hard-head and runaway tendencies were making things a lot harder, and the recent miscommunication wasn't helping things at all.

"She heard talk about an orphanage," Lauren explained, "She thinks that's where kids go to die. She told me she heard you two saying she was too much trouble, no one would want her, and so she was being sent away."

"You're not being sent away, Riley," Mia tried to assure the little girl and very lightly put her hand on Riley's back. "You have it all backwards…"

"No, I don't!"

"Kevin and I want to keep you. That lady we were talking too, she wants to make sure we're the right parents for you. You're not too much trouble. Not for us."

"You said I was!" Riley turned and pointed angrily to Kevin. He sighed and took a seat at the kitchen table.

"You're a tough kid, Riley," he said as gently as he could, "And there are so many other kids in the orphanage just like you that if you end up there, we're scared for you. Mia and I want to keep you."

"No you don't! I hate you!"

"Riley…"

"NO! I hate you too! Go away!" Riley turned her back to Mia and hid her face again. Mia didn't know what to do and looked to Kevin with a heartbroken expression on her face. With this mindset, next time the social worker came to the house, it was sure to be a bad visit and it was guaranteed Riley was going to be taken away. Mia couldn't imagine that, and not because she couldn't bear the thought of not having a child, but because she was worried about Riley. After Xandred's attacks killed so many, orphanages, foster homes, and shelters were all full of children who had lost their parents, and hospitals were full of patients of all ages. Workers of all kinds were working around the clock ensuring those who needed care were getting it and Panorama would be back to what it once was. If Riley ended up in that mess, she was sure to get lost.

She was a lot of trouble. That had been what Kevin and Mia had been discussing. They both agreed that it took a special set of people to look after her and they couldn't believe Riley would find that in time if she got lost in the system. Unfortunately, so many kids were going to end up getting lost and never finding homes. Mia couldn't imagine letting Riley slip away and become one of those kids. Not when she was lucky enough to have a chance. Tears flooded down her cheeks.

She turned back to the little girl, "Riley, please… the last thing we want to do is lose you."

Riley relaxed when she heard something different about Mia's voice. She turned and looked over, seeing Mia was crying. At first she was angry, but then she started to push against Lauren, begging her aunt let her down. Riley had only seen Mia cry once, and it had been Kevin who had made her cry. Riley had hated it back then, and though she didn't like Mia, she hated it now. Mia had been nothing but nice.

"Are you crying?" Riley was a little hesitant to approach Mia, but there was a look of deep concern on her face. Seeing it, Kevin almost wanted to cry. Mia and Riley had a special bond. He wouldn't have agreed to take on a four year old if he hadn't known that before, but he was only realizing now just how special it was.

Mia shook her head and tried to hide her tears, "I'm just scared, Riley."

"But you have tears. You're crying."

Mia lowered herself to her knees and looked right at Riley, trying to smile, "Kevin and I aren't sending you away. We're not going to let anyone take you away, Riley. You have it all wrong."

"Are you crying because of me?"

"I'm crying for you, Riley."

"Did I hurt you?"

"You scared me. You scared all of us."

"I didn't mean too. I'm sorry," Riley looked down at her feet. "I don't want to die, though."

"I'm not going to let you die. Kevin and I want to take care of you."

"That's what we were telling that lady," Kevin added. "She came to make sure we would be good parents for you. If she doesn't think so, they're going to take you away."

"To die?"

"Not to die," Kevin shook his head and decided to lowered himself to his knees as well. He reached out and placed his hands on Riley's shoulders, "We are going to keep you, I promise. That lady's just trying to look out for you. She's trying to make sure Mia and I can take care of you the way you deserve to be care of."

"But I want to stay with Mia."

"We know," Kevin said.

"But the lady wants to take me away?"

"No, she doesn't. She wants you to stay."

"I don't want to go," tears formed in Riley's eyes as she looked back and forth between Kevin and Mia, "I don't want to go to the opha… to the opan…"

"You won't. I promise," Kevin pulled Riley in for a hug to comfort her, and he was surprised when she wrapped her arms around him, returning the gesture. "I am trying my best to take care of you, Riley. I'm so sorry."

Riley heard a sniff and remembered Mia was crying. She pushed Kevin away and threw herself into Mia's arms. Kevin rolled his eyes and got back to his feet with a sigh.

"It was good while it lasted, I guess," he told Jayden, Antonio, and Lauren who had been watching the whole thing.

Riley wrapped her little arms tightly around Mia and told her everything was going to be okay. Mia kissed the side of her head and then nodded.

"I know it will, sweetheart. You're not going to go anywhere as long as you stop running away. I can't take care of you like I want to if you keep running off. Promise you won't scare us like this anymore?"

"Promise," Riley nodded and did as Mia did. She kissed Mia's cheek, "I love you."

Mia gave riley a little squeeze, "I love you too, pink Ranger."

Riley smiled and looked over Mia's shoulder. She saw Kevin watching her and Mia, rolled her eyes, sighed, and then smiled again, "Okay, fine. I like you, meanie Kevin."

"I love you too," Kevin smirked.

"Ew, gross!" Riley hid her face in Mia's shoulder.


	27. New Year's Eve Morning

After coming together at the Shiba House, no one went home. The Samurai had plans to celebrate the New Year together at the Shiba House and thought it would be a waste of time to travel home for the night. Most of them had only arrived at the house close to midnight anyways.

Lauren woke up excited. In spite of the drama from the night before, today was going to be a good day. Today would mark the last day of her past life and at midnight, when everyone cried out for the New Year, Lauren would celebrate the first day of the rest of her life: the life she had always dreamed of.

She couldn't help but wake everyone excitedly, and Emily who had slept on the couch so as not to hurt her leg by moving, was the first to see and feel Lauren's excitement.

"Happy New Year!" Lauren cried as she shook Emily awake. Emily leg out a groan as the shaking moved her leg, but also smiled for Lauren. Then she tried to look for a clock. It was winter, so the sun had a habit of sleeping in, but the room was still somewhat dark for morning.

"What time is it?"

"6:30 AM! We have to decorate and get the snacks and all the…"

"6:30? We're going to be up past midnight and you're waking me up at 6:30?"

"We have a lot to do."

"You have a lot to do," Emily shook her head and tried to pulled the blanket up over her head, "Even I don't get up this early on New Year's Eve. I got shot in the leg yesterday. Let me…"

"Piggy back ride to wake the others up with me?"

"Carry me," Emily held her arms out and Lauren gentle lifted her on her back. When Emily was comfortable and Lauren was confident Emily wouldn't fall, they raced off. Jayden and Antonio were going to be the next ones to be pulled from their sleep early.

Lauren walked into the room and she was about to call for Antonio and Jayden when Emily covered her mouth with her hands. Lauren looked over her shoulder and saw the yellow Samurai shaking her head.

"I'm an expert at waking people up. Just do as I say and this is going to be super funny."

"Okay…"

"Where's your phone?"

"In my pocket," Lauren said. Emily reached into Lauren's pocket for the phone and turned it on. Lauren watched as Emily scrolled through pages of apps until she found the one she was looking for.

"Gap Sensor," Emily smirked, "There's an app for that."

"Really?"

"No, but this is close enough. Listen," Emily turned on the app and a loud alarm started blaring. Out of habit, Antonio and Jayden woke up to the alarm and were already pumped with adrenaline.

"Nighlok! Antonio, hurry up!"

"Doesn't the Netherworld have a clock? It's way too early to be attacking the city."

"You go wake the others, I'll check the map," Jayden slipped his pants on over his pockets, putting them on backwards as he rushed out of the room. Antonio yawned loudly, but was racing to look for his Samurai Morpher and the Light Zord, both of which had been taken from him by Ji the night before for safe keeping.

"Where did I… wait a minute," Antonio stopped and turned around. Lauren and Emily had been watching and trying not to laugh. In their panic, neither Jayden nor Antonio had noticed the girls were in the room playing a joke on them. "We defeated all the Nighlok."

"You should have seen the look on your face," Emily giggled and then tried her best imitation of Antonio's wake-up face, "It was hysterical."

"Antonio, there's something wrong with the map. The table's destroyed so I can't… Lauren? Emily?"

"Your face was even funnier!" Emily pointed her finger and laughed while Lauren tried her best to hold it in.

Jayden realized it was all just a prank and crossed his arms over his chest. Antonio didn't look too amused either. The smile slipped from Emily's face and she looked down at Lauren.

"Quick, to Serena's room! Run, Lauren, run!"

Lauren raced off, no weighed down at all with Emily on her back. While Jayden shook his head and crawled back into bed hoping for a couple more hours of sleep, Antonio ran after the girls. Now that he was awake, there was no going back to bed and it was their fault.

"Serena!" Emily screamed as Lauren ran into the white Samurai's room and closed the door. Serena rolled over in bed, saw the girls and then the time and groaned.

"You both suck."

"Hide us!"

But it was too late, the door opened and Antonio walked in. Not wanting to hurt Emily, and knowing the prank couldn't have happened had Lauren not been the legs, Antonio started to go after her.

Lauren was armed with a pointed glare, crossed her arms over her chest and Antonio could feel her seniority radiating off her in an intimidating way.

Not only that, but she was his fiancé's older sister. He backed away, and flicked his thumb over his shoulder.

"Breakfast order?"

"Pancakes!" Emily cried out excitedly.

"And fresh fruit," Lauren added. Antonio nodded and slowly walked out of the room, keeping one eye on Lauren .

"Happy New Year," he said before he was gone.

-Samurai-

It was early, but Mia hadn't gotten a wink of sleep during the night, and neither had Kevin. After assuring Riley no one would take her away, they loved her, and they wanted her to stay with them so they could take care of her, they had rocked her to sleep and let her rest in their bed. Then they got Emily's version of what happened, knowing very well how Riley could exaggerate a tale to make it seem worse than it was.

Unfortunately, Riley hadn't been exaggerating. The robbers, the guns, and Riley's life being in serious danger had all been very true. Though it hadn't been planned, someone had pointed a gun and fired at Riley. Someone had tried to take her life.

Mia hadn't even known Riley had left the house. After the visit from Sabrina Clarkson, the social worker, she and Kevin had been discussing their future with Riley, and why it was important they kept her. Fearing the visit had gone horribly, they talked for hours until they got a phone call from Kate who claimed Riley was at the Shiba House and covered in blood.

Mia ripped Kate a new one when she made it to the house, even after being told Riley was okay and reading with Lauren.

"What are we going to tell Sabrina next time we see her?" Kevin asked. "I'm pretty sure good parents don't let their kids get shot at."

"We just have to convince them Riley's in good hands…"

"Mia, in the span of a month, Riley's whole family was killed, she was kidnaped, she's run away from home twice, fallen down the stairs twice, sprained her wrist, and shot at and almost killed! We are trying our best but…"

"She's not going anywhere."

"And I don't want her to, but we don't have the best case for keeping her."

"We're not losing her," Mia shook her head and gently pulled Riley into her arms. "We have to find something to say that'll convince them we're the right parents for Riley. I mean, she trusts us, isn't that enough?"

"She also thought her costume would keep her safe and make her brave," Kevin pointed to the blood stained child sized Power Ranger costume on the chair, "but it didn't. And if Emily hadn't of made that rock…"

"Wait… what?"

"What happened," Kevin shrugged, "Emily made the rock that's still in the common room. Don't you remember? The thugs couldn't hurt her or Riley anymore, the police have no idea she was ever in the bank, and it got Riley here safe and sound."

"I know," Mia said and focused on Riley. Kevin scratched the back of his neck.

"Well, if you knew…"

"Kevin, you remember when we gave Clarkson that list, and we put stars beside everyone's names?"

"She did look a little confused by it," Kevin nodded.

"Kevin, we're going to be Riley's parents, but we're not alone in raising her. It wouldn't be fair to judge just us."

"Mia, we're kind of the ones responsible for her."

"If we can't convince Clarkson we're good parents, what about the others? Clarkson would have to believe them. Lauren's been amazing with Riley, and Emily just took a bullet for the kid. Neither of them would let Riley get hurt, and they wouldn't leave Riley alone with us for a minute if they thought we weren't good enough for her?"

"You want to use the whack pack to convince the social worker Riley's in a safe environment? The whack pack, Mia. Do you hear yourself?"

"We can't lie, Kevin. I'm not lying to keep my daughter," Mia gave Riley a little squeeze, though not enough to wake her, "We don't have any other option."

Kevin nodded his head and let out a deep sigh, "This will either go really well, or really, really badly."


	28. The Last Day Of The Year

Lauren had a skip in her step all day as she walked around the house getting everything set up for midnight. This was going to be the best night of her life, and she didn't want anything going wrong.

She had dozens of alarms set for ten minutes to midnight and made sure there was at least one alarm in every room. She didn't want one person to be late in the common room, and wanted them all present when the new year started. It was going to be the first moments of the rest of her life, and she wanted to be surrounded by family and friends.

As she walked by one of the bathrooms she heard an alarm go off early and then a scream. She stopped and waited for whoever was inside to come out.

Jayden held a small clock in his hand and stomped out of the bathroom. He was startled again when Lauren, his target, was waiting for him just outside the door. He tossed the little clock at her and groaned.

"Seriously? In the bathroom? I'm lucky I was on the toilet! I shit myself!"

Lauren sniggered and reset the alarm, "Sorry, Jayden. I could have sworn I set it for midnight. Guess I got a little distracted with this one."

"Just don't let it happen…" Jayden was interrupted when another alarm went off somewhere down the hall. He looked to Lauren who shrugged her shoulders.

"It's a really important night for me."

Terran's crying made Jayden roll his eyes. He heard stomping from down the hall and backed into the bathroom to finish his business, "You might not make it to tonight."

"I…" Lauren heard the footsteps coming and saw Serena had a little clock in her hand. She gulped, assuming another alarm had gone off early and woke Terran from his nap. She hid the bathroom alarm behind her back and shrugged, "He-he… funny story…"

"Keep the alarms away from my room," Serena tossed the alarm at Lauren, who had to drop the first one to catch it. "I just got Terran down for his nap. If he misses it and he gets crabby, you're dealing with him, got it?"

"Sorry. I could have sworn I set them to midnight…"

"LAUREN!" another alarm went off followed by a call from Emily in the common room. "That's the third time!"

Serena shook her head and gave Lauren a sigh, "Midnight, huh? And if you want us gathered in the common room, why are there alarms in the common room? Emily's gotta rest?"

"Shut up, I went overboard, okay," Lauren huffed. She grabbed the alarms and walked down to the common room to shut off the alarm on the side table by the couch, which Emily couldn't reach because the table was at her feet and she had been discouraged from moving without help. When the buzzer stopped, Emily sighed contently.

"I had just gotten back to sleep, you know."

"Sorry," Lauren set all the premature alarms down and took a seat on her stool, "I'm a little excited."

"Yeah, I think everyone's got that," Emily gave Lauren a smile, "But it's a big night. I don't blame you. There's still a few hours before midnight, though, so how about you sit down and relax with some TV."

"Sounds good."

"Okay, can you get the remote from James?" Emily pointed down the hall, "He's the one who insisted I nap."

"I'll find it," Lauren nodded.

-Samurai-

"Can I stay up till midnight? Please, please, please!" Riley begged her adoptive parents as she bounced excitedly on the bed. Because she was so young, she had never stayed up for New Year's before, and was hoping Kevin and Mia would finally give her the chance. She heard all kinds of fun stories from her older brother and wanted to be able to share in all the excitement and after bedtime fun. Kevin shrugged his shoulders and turned to Mia, who was on the phone with Sabrina Clarkson, the social worker who was handling Riley's adoption case. Though it was New Year's Eve and Sabrina had the night off, she insisted on calling the family to check up on them, and Mia had to reassure her everything was okay (without telling her about the bank robbery incident over the phone).

Kevin listened to Riley's begging and wasn't sure what to do. It was common knowledge kids Riley's age go to bed on time, but Kevin's soft spot for her was growing. He had pushed her down the stairs twice, he wanted her to like him, and she had survived a near-death experience. He felt the need to spoil her and give her everything she wanted.

But it occurred to him that wasn't good parenting. Conflicted, he decided this would be Mia's call. If Mia agreed to letting Riley stay up late, Kevin felt he would get a few good points from Riley. If Mia said no, at least it was Mia turning Riley down and being the bad guy, and this one time, Kevin could slip under the radar. Mia had enough likable points to afford losing a few.

"If Mia says…"

"Please, please, please!" Riley hopped off the bed and grabbed Mia's leg, hugging her tightly hoping it would convince her to say yes, "Mia! Mia! Can I stay up till midnight? I'll be a good girl, I promise."

"Riley, I'm on the phone," Mia whispered to the little girl and returned to her conversation with Sabrina, "I'm sorry, Sabrina, that's just Riley… oh… okay."

Mia covered the mouth piece of the phone and knelt. She looked to Riley, "Miss. Clarkson wants to talk to you for a minute."

"Can I stay up till midnight? Please?"

"We'll talk about that after you talk to Miss. Clarkson," Mia passed the phone to Riley, "Be polite, kiddo."

Riley frowned, took the phone and growled, "I don't like you, poop head."

Mia smacked her hand to her forehead and sighed. Kevin chuckled.

"I'm not very fond of her either."

"Riley is not afraid to speak her mind," Mia said with a groan, "Unfortunately."

Riley continued her rant on the phone, listing off the reasons why she didn't like Sabrina to make her point very clear. Convinced Mia and Kevin were going to take care of her, the only person Riley had left to blame for being at risk of losing her new parents was Sabrina. But that wasn't easy for the four year old to explain. Instead, her list was a little… different.

"… and you want to take me to the opanage so I die. And you want to take me away from Mia and not-so-meanie Kevin. And you smell like stupid starberries, and I no like starberries!"

"Riley, I understand this is confusing to you…"

"No! I love Mia. I stay with her and not-so-meanie Kevin," Riley blew a raspberry into the phone before hanging up and passing it over to Mia with a smile, "Now can I stay up until midnight?"

Kevin tried his best to hide the laughter that was pushing its way out. He knew he wasn't supposed to encourage Riley letting someone else have it, but watching the four year old tell off a social worker and apparently win the fight was hilarious to him.

"I.. I vote… yes," Kevin said and tried to hold in the laughter until he left the room. Riley heard he was on her side and her smile brightened. She looked to Mia hopefully.

"I'll be a good girl, I promise."

Mia sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose, "Okay, here's the deal. You go to bed at bedtime…"

"That's not a deal," Riley shook her head.

Mia continued, "You go to bed at bedtime, and I'll come wake you up ten minutes before midnight. You can celebrate the New Year with all of us, but only if you go to bed without any fuss."

"I'll go to bed now!" Riley crawled into the bed and buried herself under the blankets. Mia was a little startled at how eager Riley was to see midnight, and hadn't expected her to go to bed right away.

However, she wouldn't argue it. If Riley slept, she would have more time to have fun with the other Samurai, instead of having to keep one eye constantly on Riley.

"Good girl. Goodnight, Riles."

"Shh, I'm sleeping."

-Samurai-

James had only agreed to let Emily watch TV if he got to control what they would watch on TV, knowing that her pain medication would knock her out soon enough and it was likely she fell asleep watching cartoons and with the remote lodged somewhere under her. Emily agreed, only because anything was better to watch than the ceiling.

Just as he had predicted, Emily did fall asleep, so Lauren and James were the only two who were actually watching TV. Lauren didn't yet have any favourite shows, and so didn't care what James chose to watch, but it did annoy her that he didn't seem to want to watch anything in particular. He just kept flipping through channels, hoping there was something better somewhere else.

"Can you just pick something?"

James shook his head, "I'm looking."

"We have a TV guide. You can browse that. Just stop the flickering channels before I have a seizure."

James groaned but stopped changing the channels and opened up the guide. As luck would have it, he stopped on the news. While he continued to browse for something he wanted to watch, Lauren listened to the daily news.

"James! James! James!"

"What? What? What?"

"Full screen," Lauren said as she got off her stool and approached the TV. James canceled the guide and rolled his eyes.

"The news is just depressing. Besides, all they have to cover now is the bank shooting. We know what happened. We know the police took those two assholes…"

"… as the cameras from the store just across the street from the bank show, a young girl in a pink Samurai Ranger costume is seen following the armed robbers into the bank, and shortly after, a woman enters the scene. Neither of which were seen by police, and no camera was able to catch either of them leaving from any of the doors. Police are on the look-out. In other news…"

"The picture is blurry," James whispered nervously and turned off the TV, "I mean, Riley's costume's ruined, and they couldn't see her face behind the mask anyways, and they didn't get a clear shot at Emily's face."

"It's still not good," Lauren shook her head and started to pace, "Someone saw Emily. What if the robbers remember her? Can't the police track her down that way?"

"That would mean trusting the jackasses who shot at a kid," James said, hoping he was right and that the police wouldn't put any faith at all in the robbers – though that was unlikely. Emily and Riley were both the only other two people at the bank, making the robbers the only witnesses. If the police wanted any information, they were certainly going to ask the robbers.

"They don't know they shot a kid," Lauren shook her head, "Now, all they know is that a kid was there. No one's said anything about a kid being shot at."

"What are we talking about?" Serena's voice made Lauren and James jump in their seats as she walked into the room and sat on James' lap, leaving the couch for the napping Emily. She looked to the news, but by now the reporter had moved on to a citizen helping out at one of the shelters.

"Just the…" Lauren say James was shaking his head and signalling for her not to say a word about what they had seen on the news. She didn't think it was right to keep this information from Serena, but she was still new to the group and she was still trying to find her place. She didn't want to push any buttons. "Just the fact that James can't pick a channel."

"He does that," Serena nodded her head and gave James a kiss on the cheek. "Terran's out like a light and I'm going to see if Kate needs help in the kitchen. Any requests for tonight, you two?"

"Nope," they shook their heads and answered together. Serena gave them a look before getting up and walking away. When she was gone, they breathed a sigh of relief.

Serena wasn't stupid. She walked into the kitchen and grabbed Antonio's laptop from the counter. She had learned his password after living with him for so long and logged in without any problem.

It wasn't that she didn't want Lauren to bond with James. She considered Lauren to be one of her best friends, equal to Mia, and only slightly below Emily and James on the relationship scale. She wanted her husband and her best friend to get along, and for Lauren's sake, she wanted the red Ranger to make friends with good, trustworthy people.

But Lauren and James didn't have the kind of relationship where they behaved the way they did in the common room. Something was up.

Serena also wasn't clueless. She had walked in, saw the two were watching the news, and figured their working together had something to do with what they had seen. Having heard the words "kid being shot at", Serena decided to investigate and searched for news about the bank shooting.

She browsed for a few minutes, telling Kate she would help with the cooking after she got her research settled and made sure everything was fine. She went back and forth in the search engine, looking up different articles about the incident and getting as much information as she could. It startled her that the investigators were now looking for a little girl and another woman (whom Serena knew to be Riley and Emily) who were apparently linked to the crime. Riley, easily, would be let off the hook once they knew who she was and that she was safe. Emily was thought to be a part of the whole plan.

Then something else came up. The internet made getting up to date information very easy. Serena shook her head, closed the laptop and got up.

"I'm going for a walk."

"What about dinner?" Kate asked, looking a little upset she wasn't getting the help she was promised.

"Ask Ji."

"Where are you going?"

"Just to check up on stuff… at home… Storm."

"Storm?"

"Just going to make sure she's not lonely on New Year's Eve. Maybe bring her here… maybe not."

"Serena…"

"I'm just going on a walk!" Serena called and ran to the door. She got her boots and jacket on and headed out. She walked down the path, and when she thought she was far enough, she suddenly turned and sprinted to the side of the house. She walked up to Ji's bedroom window and watched secretly while Kate came to get Ji, asking for his help in the kitchen.

"I'm not an ungrateful niece," Serena muttered to herself once Ji and Kate were gone and then opened the window and climbed inside. Ji had been hiding the Samuraizers, and fortunately he hadn't had time to lock them away. For now, they were sitting on the night table near his closet. Serena opened the box and took out her white Samuraizer.

"Okay," she whispered as she flipped it open and started to trace a Symbol, "This is going to hurt. This is going to hurt. This is… holy mother fucker!"

A wound, very similar to Emily's gunshot wound in her calf, opened up in Serena's leg and the pain was agonizing. Fortunately, Serena had thought this part of the plan through, and her next Symbol covered her wound in gauze and braced her leg and foot like Emily's.

There was only one more Symbol to be done. Serena traced it, and felt herself getting smaller. Finally satisfied, she put the Samuraizer away and limped to Ji's closet. He always had medical supplies on hand and that included crutches. She took them and then walked to the window.

"I did not think this part through," she said and looked down at her leg. Deciding to bite the bullet, she dropped her crutches out the window and climbed out, biting her tongue as the wound in her leg protested. After hitting the ground and not screaming out in pain like every part of her body demanded she did, she got up and with the crutches walked out of the yard. As she followed the path into the city, she went through the checklist in her head one more time to make sure she hadn't forgotten anything before she got too far from the house.

"Female, white, blonde, short, made rocks out of thin air, gunshot wound to the left calf, late teens to early twenties… alright, I'm stretching that, but what do those assholes know. They shot at Riley. I'm convincing enough."


	29. 2013 New Year

The year was winding down, and there was only half an hour until midnight Mia had gone to wake Riley while the house gathered in the common room and collected all the alarms on the way. Lauren had done her best to have them set off ten minutes before midnight, but her excitement must have gotten the better of her while she was working as they had all gone off minutes to hours early, startling the Samurai as they walked by and triggering some very funny reactions when Samurai confused the alarms for the Gap Sensor and believed there was a Nighlok on the loose.

James collected the alarms from around his and Serena's room so they wouldn't wake Terran and walked into the common room. He hadn't seen or heard from Serena in hours, and she hadn't shown up for dinner or the snacks and games. Kate mentioned she had gone on a walk and to check up on Storm, but James was worried she wouldn't be back in time.

And he couldn't help but worry something had happened to her.

"Have fun without me," there was no way he was getting all the way to his place and back with Serena in under half an hour, so he knew he would miss the countdown, but he didn't want the Samurai to miss out on the fun. He insisted they not worry about him or Serena and promised they were going to have their own night wherever they ended up.

The Samurai were a little disappointed neither James nor Serena planned on being at the house at midnight, but that quickly changed as Riley walked into the room. The little girl had a look around and the huffed and stomped her foot.

"Where is the magic and the fairies?"

"What?" Jayden asked her. "Magic and fairies?"

"Peter said that all the fairies came out after bedtime and everyone played and had fun without the little kids. Are they hiding?"

"Uh… okay," Jayden shrugged his shoulders and looked around, unsure what Riley was talking about. Mia took the little girl in her arms and set her down on a stool.

"No fairies tonight, sweetie, but what about some midnight ice-cream."

"Ice-cream?" Emily asked and raised her hand, "There's the magic word. Me, please!"

"Anyone else, while I'm getting it?" Mia chuckled.

"Be quick! It's almost midnight!" Lauren was bouncing on her stool, clearly very excited for the New Year and everyone understood why. She had a big grin on her face and kept checking the clocks and her watch every few seconds.

"There's still twenty-five minutes," Mia shook her head, "Emily will have her ice-cream and finish it before we're even half-way there."

"Challenge accepted," Emily grinned and looked to Riley, "Bet I can eat my ice-cream faster than you."

"Nahuh!"

"Yahuh!"

"Aw," Kate smirked teasingly as she watched Emily and Riley playfully bicker, "Emily's finally made her first friend in kindergarten."

"Shut up," Emily crossed her arms over her chest and sighed. She looked to Riley, "Never, ever break the pink crayon. It will end you."

"You broke a pink crayon?" Riley gasped and turned her back to Emily, "We can't talk no more."

"What? Seriously? It's happening again?"

"Riley _loves_ pink," Lauren whispered to Emily before looking to her watch again, "Mia, hurry…"

"Still twenty-five minutes, Lauren!" Mia called back.

-Samurai-

James turned on the news on the drive home. He couldn't keep up with it in the house, not wanting to ruin the holiday for the others. If they knew the city was onto Emily, even if they weren't targeting her just yet, the New Year wouldn't be the same. Lauren already knew, but the closer it got to the New Year, the more excited she got and the more the bad news slipped her mind.

Which was a good thing for now. James wanted her to have a good time tonight. He wanted everyone to have a good time.

The news reporter went around with all the different events in the city – from celebrations and parties for the New Year, to the growing population of Panorama City, to the people living in shelters finding peace, homes, and their families for 2013, to the bank shooting and their leads. When the news finally came around to the bank, James listened for the updates.

To his dismay, the police had questioned the robbers and they had come up with a description for Emily that matched her quite well. Fortunately, Riley had been covered up by her costume and couldn't be identified as easily, but the reporter, as well as the police believed that once they found Emily, they would find Riley.

James was shocked to hear now that Emily was also wanted for kidnapping, considering it did appear as though she had taken Riley, who couldn't have possibly been willingly involved in the crime, and ran. James gulped. The only solace he had was that, aside from the gunshot wound and the ability to summon rocks out of thin air, the description could still fit a large group of people. At this point, the police were looking for a short, white, blonde woman between the age of sixteen and twenty-two.

From what James had seen growing up in Panorama City, a lot of girls Emily's age were blonde.

"Thank you bottled blondes," James muttered and turned off the radio. He looked to the time as he parked in his and Serena's driveway. It was fifteen minutes to midnight. Unless Serena was home taking care of Storm, James was going to miss midnight.

And the lights in the house were turned except for the living room light, which had been left on for Storm. Still, James wouldn't give up. He walked up to the door, opened it, and stepped inside.

"Serena?" he called, but instead of his wife, he was greeted by Storm at the door. His fear of dogs did play up a little bit, and sometimes he did find himself wondering how he ended up living with one, but he knew Storm was gentle. He gave her a gentle pat on the head and expected her to leave him alone after that.

She didn't. She cried and stuck close to him, rubbing his leg like a cat would and begging for some attention and some love. She had been left alone for too long which meant Serena hadn't come home.

"Dammit," he muttered. He took Storm in his arms, careful to keep her mouth away from his face, and carried her out to the car. When he was inside, and Storm was no longer squirming around on his lap, he grabbed his cell phone and tried her number.

All he got was voicemail.

He smacked the steering wheel with his fist. He startled himself a little when the horn went off. Storm hadn't been expecting the outburst at all. Her being left alone for so long, James' outburst, and being startled by the horn made her pee.

"Dammit!" James groaned, feeling his pants were wet. He opened the door, put Storm on the ground and then got out.

Now he had to shower. No matter how bad the New Year would start, it would be worst if he had to start it with dog pee on his pants.

-Samurai-

The countdown began, and Lauren felt her heart flutter in excitement. The TV was on so the Samurai could watch the ball drop, and everyone was partnered up for the New Year kiss. Lauren didn't have someone to kiss, but was happy enough to be surrounded by her friends and family.

"Three! Two! One! HAPPY NEW YEAR!" the Samurai all cried out and cheered in excitement before pulling their loved ones in for the kiss.

To Lauren, midnight felt like magic. She could almost literally feel everything from her old life wash away. All the training, the cold sensei, the loneliness, the lack of family, and the weight of the world all disappeared in an instant and she felt brand new. The screen from the TV gave off bright, flashing lights, but it was Lauren's smile that light up the room.

Suddenly, she felt someone kiss her cheek and turned, seeing it was Jayden. She wrapped her arms around her brother with a smile.

"That's it?" Riley asked and looked around, seemingly disappointed. "What about the candy rain and the princesses, and flying?"

"Big brothers are the worst," Kevin muttered to Mia. Mike overheard him though and teasingly groaned.

"I know, right?"

"That's it, Riley," Mia nodded her head and took the little girl in her arms, "We count down from ten, give someone a kiss, and happy New Year."

"I got up for this? Next year, I just want to sleep."

"Wish granted. C'mon, pink Ranger, bedtime part two."

Lauren couldn't explain her excitement, but she wanted to jump around the house and hug everyone. 2013 was officially the best year in her books, and it was only a couple minutes in.

"Now what? Now what?" she asked excitedly and looked to all her friends.

"We clean up," Antonio chuckled and grabbed the candy wrappers and ice-cream bowls, "And then we go to bed, I guess."

"That's… it? Really?"

"Happy New Year," Kevin told her as he walked off with Riley and Mia while the rest of the house, save for Emily, cleaned up the common room. Lauren went to sit beside the earth Samurai who looked ready to pass out.

"That's kind of how holidays work," Emily explained, "So much hype, and then they're over in a flash. Next holiday: Valentine's Day."

"What's that?"

Emily giggled, "This is going to be a fun year."

-Samurai-

With the city still recovering after Xandred's attack and the Netherworld's appearance, a lot of services had to make do with what was left, and the police station was no different. The main station had been destroyed, but a few jails had been left standing. Serena found herself locked up in a jail, with two police officers watching over her from a desk.

She had turned herself in only partially willingly. Knowing her sister was being searched for; Serena had taken her identity so she would be mistaken for the woman who escaped the scene of the crime. Serena purposely found a few cops who were on patrol to keep the city safe and it seemed they also were on the lookout for her. The cops recognized her and when Serena didn't deny being the woman they were looking for, they arrested her and brought her to the jail cell.

She wasn't sure what would happen next, but she knew Emily wasn't being hunted anymore so she could rest a little easier. All she had to focus on was clearing her name and convincing the police and the city that she was nothing more than a victim in the robbery, trying to protect her niece who had stumbled into danger.

And she had to do it all before the thirteenth. She had missed New Year's with Terran, and though he would have slept through it regardless, Serena wanted to be home with him. So she was determined not to miss his birthday as well. She did not want to be the mother who was behind bars for her son's first birthday.

"Will you listen to my side of the story now?" Serena grumbled to the officers. "Don't you want to know how I got shot in the leg? What I was doing there? Where the kid is?"

"Where is the kid?"

"With her parents. I'm telling you, she's my niece. Her parents are in the process of adopting her, there was a little miscommunication, she ran away, and I found her in the bank. One of those assholes shot me before I knew what was going on."

"So, why did you run?"

"I'm innocent?"

The officer scoffed while his partner rolled his eyes. Innocent until proven guilty did not seem to cross either of their minds and it frustrated Serena. Though it hurt her leg, she got to her feet and grabbed the bars.

"Fine, I want a lawyer."

"That won't help you, sweetheart," the second officer chuckled. "The whole city's got a wish to see you pay."

"I'm innocent!"

"Hundreds of people are dead. Thousands more are injured. There's not a person in this city who hasn't been hurt by you in some way."

"What are you talking about? It was a robbery. _I_ was the one who got shot!"

"It's game over, Ranger. You should have fled town like all your other friends. So, Earthling, are you white or yellow?"

Serena backed away from the bars and slumped back to the bed, unsure of what she was going to do now. Emily was innocent for the incident at the bank. If anything, for saving a young girl she should have been a hero. Serena was definitely innocent, having been nowhere near or having no knowledge of the event until after it had happened.

But she was definitely a Samurai.

"I get a phone call, right?"

"Whatever," the officer rolled his eyes and tossed her the phone. Serena caught it and gulped. Neither officer made any move to leave the room so Serena was certain she wouldn't get any privacy.

"I have to pee."

"Toilet's there."

"I have a shy bladder."

"Not our problem."

Serena sighed. She didn't want to do this, but it looked like she had no choice. She sat on the bed and started to dial James' number while putting one hand behind her back. Like Emily, Mia, and Kevin, Serena knew how to use Symbol Power without the Samuraizer, but it was draining. Still, it was worth the risk if it meant getting out and getting help. Ji definitely had a friend who could get her and all the other Samurai out of this mess.

She finished her Symbol and the ground began to shake. The officers grabbed on to the desk and ducked underneath it, fearing they were being hit by an earthquake. Serena had full control of what was happening, and while the officers hid, Serena used her new and smaller size to her advantage. She made a hole in the outside wall of her cell, just big enough to fit through and then she treated her leg to get rid of the wound, happy it was only a Symbol induced injury. Again, it hurt, but at least she could run.

Before she did, she returned herself to her normal height. Then she took off running, and when she was far enough, the earthquake at the jail ceased.

The officers climbed out from under the desk and looked around. No real damage had been done except to the wall.

"Damn Rangers," the first one muttered while the other grabbed his radio.


	30. Discovered

James got out of the shower and saw it was past midnight. He groaned as he dropped his laundry in the basket and pulled out a new pair of pants. Storm followed him, whining the whole way.

"Well, you shouldn't have peed on me."

Storm tilted her head to give him a look and James sighed, "I got mad because my wife isn't home like she promised. I have a reason."

As James pulled on a fresh, clean pair of pants he looked to his phone. He picked it up and noticed he had one missed call. James could only assume and hope the call had something to do with Serena, and unfortunately it looked like she had gotten herself into a bit of trouble. She normally carried her phone with her, and her losing it was never good.

Deciding he wouldn't leave Storm home alone again, he clipped her leash to her collar and took her with him outside. Just as he locked the door, Storm began to bark and tug on the leash. James turned to see why and noticed someone running up his driveway. When she ran under the street light, James saw it was Serena.

"Where have you been?"

"In jail. Long story. I need to hide."

"In jail? Serena, what's…" James couldn't finish his sentence when Serena snatched the keys from his hands and opened the door, letting herself in. She stormed upstairs to the bedroom and started to pack a few things in a bag. She was innocent, and running wasn't the best idea, but there was no way she was sitting around in a jail cell while people accused her and her team of murdering the town. No one knew the story behind being a Samurai Ranger. No one could possibly understand.

She needed help. The Samurai needed help. Ji had many contacts who had helped before and would surely help again. Until everything was settled, though, Serena and the Samurai were going to have to hide.

She rushed into Terran's room, grabbed a few of his toys and his belongings, filled the rest of the bag up with them and then raced back downstairs, where James was waiting by the door. She put the bag on her shoulders and then leaned over, scooping Storm up without really coming to a stop.

"Run, James!"

"Run? I have a perfectly good car…"

"Just run!"

James had no idea what was happening, but he trusted Serena and so he took off running, following her footsteps and trying to keep up as best he could.

-Samurai-

"Ow! Ow! Ow! Stop it! It hurts."

"Maybe next time you won't get shot," Kate said as she finished cleaning Emily's leg and wrapped it back in bandages before putting the brace in place. "There. All clean."

"It feels like you stung me with hundreds of bees," Emily sat up and touched her leg, massaging it gently while Kate cleaned up the old bandages and the used supplies.

Mike walked into the room, looking a little tired from getting up early but still awake. He had woken up alone in his bed and he knew Emily was safe and sound on the couch, but he didn't like lying awake in bed alone. Wanting to check up on her, he got up early.

"Morning, Em," he leaned forward, giving her a kiss. Emily huffed.

"No, it's not."

"Cleaning out the wound?" Mike chuckled and looked to Kate. She nodded her head.

"She'll thank me when it heals without an infection. That's the last thing we want right now, right, Emily."

"Considering last time she let herself get so sick she had a seizure, I agree," Mike added and looked to Emily, "but I'll try to be a little gentler than Kate."

"Can we go home, now?"

"How about some TV?" Kate offered Emily the remote before getting up and walking to the kitchen to make the house breakfast. Emily happily took the remote and turned on the TV.

"Zombie!"

"No!"

"C'mon, Em," Mike whined, "It's morning. Zombie horror movies can't be that scary in the light of day. They're actually ridiculous."

"I'm the one who got shot."

"Please," Mike looked to Emily with his version of the puppy face and she caved, handing him the remote. Mike smiled happily and sat down on the couch, letting Emily lean against him while they watched one of his favourite movies.

-Samurai-

She had been supposed to sleep, but Lauren found she couldn't. With the New Year came a new life, and Lauren had so much planned she had to get it all down on paper. She had places she wanted to see (and really see, not just travel by as she went from one location to another), she had things she wanted to new, new experiences to be had, and she wanted to spend as much time as possible with her family and getting to know them. Everyone else was so close, and they were doing their best to include her, but there were some times Lauren felt out of loop. By the end of the year, she wanted to have jokes and games with her friends, and she wanted to fit seamlessly into the group.

"That list is taller than you are," she heard someone say and turned around. Kevin was standing by her door.

"It's a to do list."

"Alright, even I'm not that wound up. What could you possibly need to do?"

"Not need to do. Want to do," Lauren passed him the list with a smile, "I can finally put being the head of the Shiba Clan, the Sealing Symbol, and all those years of training behind me. I can finally have a life that I want to live. So this is what I want to do this year."

"There's… a lot on that list," Kevin shook his head and then looked to Lauren, seeing she seemed a little disappointed. He let out a breathe and shrugged his shoulders, "I mean, a year's a long time. I'm sure we'll get it done."

"We'll?"

"Isn't that number one on your list?" Kevin pointed to the very top, "Spend time and bond with family?"

"Yeah, but you guys have done all this stuff before," Lauren said with a sigh, "I mean, you and Mia want to get married on Valentine's Day and I don't even know what that is. And, well, you're getting married. I've never been on a date."

"That doesn't mean you're alone. Look, right here: go on a date. Find a girlfriend. Mia's going to be begging to help you with that."

"Really?"

"Go fishing. See what Antonio likes about it? Yeah, Antonio's not going to let you go fishing without him. Learn to skateboard, you're going to need someone to teach you, and Mike's going to want to help out. Ride a roller coaster? Once Emily can walk again, you two are going to have a blast at Rainbow's End. Surely you're going to find something to do with Jayden, Mentor, and Kate, considering they really are your family and… you don't know how to swim?"

Lauren blushed and shook her head, "Not… really?"

"You're kidding? You're Lauren Shiba. You're _the_ Shiba. You've spent years training to be the most amazing Samurai this world has ever seen. Without your help, Xandred would have destroyed us and everyone on this planet. And you can't swim?"

"I can walk through fire without getting burned… if that means anything."

"It means you can't swim. Alright, change of plans. I was going to invite you to tag along with Mia, Riley, and me to the park, but we're going to the pool."

"In winter?"

"Indoor. Riley can't swim either. I'm a swimming teacher now and my first lessons were a bit… sloppy. You help me figure this teaching thing out and I'll help you learn to swim."

"Wait, with Riley?" Lauren looked a little uncomfortable and shook her head, "You're going to teach me and Riley the same lesson?"

"Yeah, so?"

"That's… humiliating. Kevin, I've been training with men twice my size and double or triple my age since I was a little girl. I've kicked their asses and defeated them with skills they could never hope to achieve. Now you're telling me I've got to train alongside a four year old?"

"Is it more humiliating than going to the beach this summer and drowning?"

Lauren gave Kevin a harsh glare, "Alright, I'll train with the kid. But I am not wearing those puffy air arm things."

"Water wings?"

"Yeah, water wings. Whatever. I'm not wearing them."

"Z… ZOMBIE!" Emily's scream could be heard from the common room. Lauren was a little startled, Kevin rolled his eyes.

"Shut up, twerp. I'm not a Zombie, I'm tired."

"Serena?" Lauren and Kevin both asked themselves as they walked down the hall to see Serena and James were finally home after being out all night, and both looked exhausted.

Kevin crossed his arms over his chest, "And where have you been?" he pointed his look at Serena. At least James had told the others he was going out to find Serena. Serena had vanished the night before without really explaining why or where she would be.

"Jail. Can I sleep? James will explain everything," Serena set Storm down and tried to leave the room. Kevin grabbed her arm, stopping her.

"Jail?"

"It's a long story," Serena sighed.

Lauren wanted to listen, but her attention turned to the kitchen as Kate hurried out. She looked just as worried as Serena was tired.

"Kate?"

"Everyone needs to leave now."

"What? Why? What's going…?"

"In about twenty minutes, this place is going to be surrounded. The Shiba House has been discovered. They know the Rangers live here."

"What?" everyone gasped.

"Just get out! All of you!" Kate shouted.

Kevin shook his head and raced for his bedroom, calling for Mia and Kevin. Lauren and Serena did the same as they went to get Jayden and Antonio, and Terran from their rooms. Mike, with a little help from Kate, hoisted Emily on his back. If they had to run, Emily was going to need help.

"Kate…"

"You're going to be fine," Kate promised Emily, "Someone in the city must have known something…"

"Those robbers found out I was a Samurai. I had to use Symbol Power to protect Riley and they put two and two together. I'm sorry, I didn't mean to…"

"It's okay," Kate nodded, "Ji and I will try to throw them off. Just stay together. All of you."

"C'mon!" Jayden called as the others all raced to the door and it seemed even without knowing what was happening, Jayden was taking the lead. Mike didn't need to be told twice and took off running with the rest of the Samurai and James, who made sure to grab Storm as he raced by.

Kate looked over her shoulder as Ji came rushing into the room. He had been in the kitchen with her and kept his eyes and ears glued to the news while Kate warned the others. Kate saw him and shook her head, "Emily said the robbers…"

"Serena was arrested last night," Ji held up a picture of sketch of a person who looked a lot like Serena. "She was arrested and escaped last night."

"That's… what?" Kate took the paper and looked it over for herself. It was Serena, and the name given was Serena's, but Kate read the description and shook her head, "That's Emily."

"Kate, it's obviously…"

"This," she pointed to the picture and the name, "is Serena. This," the pointed to the description, "is Emily."

"What?" Ji took back the paper but didn't have time to read it all over before he heard sirens wailing in the distance. He and Kate looked to each other before she pulled him in for a kiss.

"Lie your ass off."


	31. A Place To Stay

Mike didn't want to admit it, but he was getting tired.

Everyone was getting tired. But no one else had to carry Emily. He wasn't sure how. No one was sure how, but they had been discovered. Emily thought it had something to do with her appearance and her use of Symbol Power at the bank. The robbers, the people who had shot at her and Riley had definitely said something about Emily being a Samurai, and one thing had led to another, forcing the Samurai to run away from their only safe house before a city of misdirected angry people hunted them down.

No one knew how much the city knew so they opted to stay in the shadows. They travelled on foot on the outskirts of town and through back alleys. Mike was sure they had left Panorama City behind and were in a new city, but with the internet news travelled far and fast. It would be a while before they could outrun the hunt.

But he couldn't make it another step. Seeing a rock, he sat down, gently lowering Emily as well. The others noticed he needed a rest and couldn't argue with a break, so they all took a seat.

Terran was fussing. He was hungry and hadn't eaten since morning. Serena, fortunately, had grabbed a few crackers for him. She removed him from his carrier and held him in his arms as she fed him.

Riley was also a little fussy, hungry, and confused. She stuck close to Mia and tugged on the pink Ranger's arm.

"I'll eat anything."

"You'll have to wait a bit, Riles, I don't…" before Mia could finish, Serena offered her a couple crackers. Terran had enough for now and it was senseless letting Riley go hungry. Mia thanked her and gave Riley the crackers, "Here, sweetheart."

Riley took a bit of the cracker and looked to Mia like she had something she wanted to say. Mia invited her to say it, but Riley shook her head and gestured for Mia to lean in.

"What?" Mia leaned closer to Riley.

"You're the pink Ranger. Tell the mean people we're not bad guys."

Mia sighed and looked up at Kevin. So far, Riley only knew Mia's identity. She had no idea her father, her aunts, and her uncles were also the Samurai Rangers.

"I can't do that. It's because we're the Samurai Rangers we're being chased."

"We?"

"Blue," Kevin nodded his head and the Samurai took turns naming off their colours. Riley seemed confused, and when the list stopped she shook her head.

"Pink."

"Riley…"

"It's my favourite colour. No one else like pink?"

"Riley," Kevin knelt before her and looked his daughter in the eyes, "Those are our Ranger colours."

"No one else like the pink Ranger? But she's your friend!"

"This would be easier if we had the Samuraizers," Antonio muttered and glared at Jayden and Lauren. The fire siblings shrugged their shoulders.

"We didn't make that call," Jayden said.

"Riley," Kevin tried again, "We're all Power Rangers."

Riley shook her head and laughed, "You're not a Power Ranger."

"I'm Blue."

"No."

"I swear, Riley. I'm the Blue Ranger. Haven't you noticed, all I wear is blue? I swim? I like water. Like the blue Ranger."

"I wear pink. That no makes me the pink Ranger."

"Riley, I pinky promise I'm the blue Ranger. I pinky promise we're all Rangers."

"Except me," James lifted his hand in the air, "I just married one."

"No," Riley shook her head and laughed. "The Power Rangers are super amazing."

"We are the Samurai Rangers," Antonio thought maybe if Riley heard someone else say it she would believe it. She was stubborn, though."

"No you're not. You're not super amazing. Lauren, are you a Power Ranger?"

"Red," Lauren nodded. Riley smiled.

"WHOA! That's cool. Mia! Mia! Did you know Lauren was a Power Ranger?"

As Riley bounced excitedly and shared the not-so-new-news with Mia, Lauren smirked proudly and stuck her tongue out at the others.

"Would you look at that? I _am_ super amazing."

"I'll push you in a lake," Kevin muttered.

"Shh. Guys. Shh!" Serena hushed them all, hugged Terran to her chest and listened carefully. Over the sound of their voices she could have sworn she heard a twig snap and leaves rustling. As she silenced them, though, she heard nothing.

No one heard anything.

"What?" Emily asked her sister. Serena handed Terran to James and got up. Without telling the others what she was doing, she walked into the bushes alone. If a mob of people were approaching, they would have made more noise. Someone had found them, and they had come alone.

Serena felt as though this was her fault. She didn't know how the city had discovered the Shiba House, but when she had gotten arrested in her sister's place, in hopes of clearing her name, she had accidentally given her real name. She hadn't thought of the consequences and it had slipped her mind that Emily had mentioned using Symbol Power in public. Serena was sure she was the reason the Samurai were about to be discovered.

So she would hold off whoever was trying to sneak up on them and she would give the others time. Keeping close to the ground, she saw a very subtle movement in a single leaf on a bush and braced herself to lunge at whatever it was. She saw something long and black, and it looked like an arm. Seeing it was human, Serena lunged.

The stalker lunged as well and the two clashed. Serena thought it was just a civilian, and was stunned when she was outmatched and launched back to where the others were sitting. She got up, wiped the blood from her lip and glared as her attacker stepped out of the bushes. Just as Serena was about to throw herself at the attacker again, and the others got up to help, Emily cried out.

"STOP! Stop! Serena! Stop it!"

"What?" Serena turned to her sister with a glare and her attacker did the same. Everyone stopped what they were doing to look at Emily. She smiled brightly. With the mask it had been a little hard, but Emily wouldn't forget the eyes anywhere. Those eyes had saved her life and returned her and Terran to their family.

"Leanne!"

"Leanne?" the Samurai asked. The attacker, Leanne, looked to Emily and seemed to smile as she removed her mask and revealed her face. Emily grinned happily and bounced on her rock, unable to get up. Leanne saw the brace and furrowed her brow with worry.

"What happened to you?"

"I got shot!"

"I said sorry," Riley muttered. She was grabbed by Mia and held tightly in the pink Ranger's arms.

"Who are you?" Mia asked. Leanne turned back to the Samurai with a smile.

"A friend of Emily's, obviously," she said. "We've heard you guys are in trouble. We want to help."

"We?"

"Thunder Ninja Academy," Lauren said as she noticed the emblem on Leanne's chest, "You're a Thunder Ninja."

"Leanne Omino."

"Lauren Shiba."

"Shiba? That's… interesting," Leanne gave Lauren a strange look and then turned back to the Samurai team, "I am a Thunder Ninja, but you know my friends a bit better. There's a place for you all to stay and hide at the Wind Ninja Academy."

"No," Serena growled and turned away from Leanne to pick up Terran. Emily looked to her sister pleadingly.

"Leanne's fine, and I don't want to keep running… or riding. All this bouncing is hurting my foot."

"Are you complaining?" Mike gave her a glare. Emily smiled innocently.

"I love you."

"Ji was friends with an Omino," Lauren said, "I remembering a Sensei Omino visiting the Shiba House when I was just a kid."

"Yeah, my dad. Look, Sensei Watanabe – Cam – heard you guys were in trouble and he and the others want to help. The Wind Ninja Academy is completely safe. No one's going to find you there."

"No," Serena shook her head and turned her back to Leanne, "We'll find somewhere else."

"Serena, what's gotten into you?" James asked with a shake of his head, "Emily trusts her, and you guys have gotten help from ninjas before, right?"

"And Emily's such a great judge of character?"

"Excuse me?" Emily muttered, "You're one to talk. Sorry, to say this, James, but Serena, don't you remember who fathered that little boy?"

Serena glared at her sister, "I'm not going to the Wind Ninja Academy. I'll go anywhere but there."

"Cam's not a jerk anymore, Serena…"

"I know that."

"So let's go! Before the city finds us!"

"You're going to be fine," Antonio put his hand on Serena's shoulder and gently pushed her to follow Leanne. Serena gulped and kept Terran close as she walked and then started to limp. Her legs were sore. They were starting to feel like jelly.

Antonio stuck close to her though and offered her a smile, "It's okay."


	32. Underground Hideout

The Samurai had been to the Wind Ninja Academy once before, but they hadn't had time to look around. They had come quickly to bring Serena home after a very serious run-in with Dayu. They didn't waste any time looking at the big Academy, the training grounds and the beautiful view, so this visit was like their first time.

Though Leanne's emblem on her uniform didn't belong to the Academy, all the students seemed to know her and followed her command without question. The Thunder and Wind Academies worked together a lot since the Ninja and Thunder Storm Rangers had fought together to protect the Earth from Lothor, and being Sensei Omino's daughter, and a somewhat sister to the now head of the Thunder Academy Hunter Bradley, Leanne had quite the authority over the students. She beckoned two ninjas away from training.

"We've got a broken fibula. Get Emily one of the wheelchairs from the…"

"No," Serena shook her head and used her glare to send the two students back to training. Serena took Emily from Mike's back, letting him rest for a while without setting Emily down. "She's not heavy."

"No wheelchairs," Antonio whispered to Leanne who seemed to nod in understanding. Cam and Emily had both shared what had happened when Serena had last been to the Academy and it only occurred to Leanne now that a wheelchair wasn't to be mentioned or seen by Serena.

"Sorry, my bad," Leanne said and then pointed down a trail, "Ninja Ops is down that way. The others are expecting you. I've got a few calls to make."

"You sound like Mentor," Mike chuckled. Leanne gave him a smile and then hurried off towards the Academy while Serena took the lead. She remembered the way to Ninja Ops and though she wasn't excited to see it again, she did want to be able to rest safely.

"Serena, are you okay?" Emily whispered in her sister's ear.

"I'm fine. Why?"

"You're tense. And given what happened last time you were here…"

"Stop talking, Emily."

"You hated being paralyzed and I get it. I know how places can scare you."

"This place doesn't scare me," Serena shook her head. Emily sighed.

"Serena, we've had this talk many times already. Lean on me."

"Later. Promise," Serena came to a stop in front of a wooden board on the floor. The Samurai gathered around it and stared, as if waiting for it to magically open. Serena rolled her eyes and kicked the door open with her foot. The Samurai gasped, but there was nothing to see but stairs.

"You guys are pathetic," Serena rolled her eyes and started to walk down. Mike was right behind her.

"Dude, Ninjas are ten times awesomer than Samurai! They have weapons and tricks, and they're trained, deadly assassins."

"Not assassins," a voice said and Serena recognized the voice as belonging to Shane, the Air Ninja and former red Ranger for his team. She tried to force a smile, knowing what had happened between her and the Ninjas had been a misunderstanding and was in the past, but she couldn't do it. The Wind Ninja Academy made her feel weak.

"And underground hideout! This place is so cool!" Emily was bouncing on Serena's back, testing her sister's strength as she looked around in awe, "We need an underground hideout!"

"And you've got one," Shane gestured around the room, "Until things settled down for you guys, you're more than welcome to stay here. Make yourselves at home."

"Riley! Don't touch that!" Mia had set Riley on her feet and already the little girl was pushing buttons on what looked to be a very complicated and very important computer. Shane chuckled and shook his head.

"Cam childproofed it before you got here. Dustin reminded us you had kids. Though I'm sure he mentioned a boy."

"Terran," Jayden pointed to the baby asleep in James' arm.

"You guys look tired. Why don't you rest for a bit? There are rooms in the back, and we've put a mini-fridge in the corner for snacks and drinks and stuff. If you need anything else, you're welcome to come upstairs. Everyone on the grounds is sworn to secrecy, and they know why you need to be hidden. Secret identities do kind of suck sometimes."

"Thank you… Shane, right?" Jayden asked, trying to remember the last time he had met the Ninjas.

"If you need anything, don't be afraid to ask."

"A bed," Mike was already headed for the backrooms, where he had been promised a place to sleep.

Lauren looked around Ninja Ops. She was a little tired, but excited more than anything. She had been to places like the Wind Ninja Academy before. Some of those places had been even more remote and even more impressive. But she had never gotten to stay and look around and enjoy herself. She usually spent her time training, unable to do any sightseeing.

"I'm going for a walk. We might be here for a while. It'll be nice to know our way around.

"I'll go with you," Jayden said, sharing the same feelings as Lauren. From time to time with Ji he had travelled, but they had never stayed anywhere long enough to enjoy it. It had mostly been business, and then back home before he missed too much training.

And any excuse to spend time with his sister was a good one. She had been so excited for New Years and it made Jayden happy to see her coming out of her shell a little more. He knew it was tough getting used to being part of a family.

"You guys look tired," Emily looked to Mia, Kevin, James, and Antonio and nodded her head to the backrooms, signalling to them behind Serena's back that she wanted some privacy with her sister. Antonio caught on to what Emily was saying. He yawned and pretended to stretch.

"I'm exhausted. I call biggest bedroom."

"No way!" Riley shouted and shoved her way past Antonio, "I get biggest bedroom! Mia, hurry up! He's going to steal it!"

"Coming, coming," Mia groaned as she, Kevin, Antonio, and Riley disappeared into the backrooms. James started to follow, but looked back to Serena.

"Are you okay?"

"Go find a room. Terran's tuckered out," Serena nodded. James was hesitant, but he left to see if the Ninjas had prepared a room with a crib.

Serena set Emily down on the table and asked her to lie still. They had traveled, and Emily had complained once or twice about her leg being sore. Serena removed the brace and then the bandages, hoping all the bouncing around on someone's back hadn't done any damage.

"Last time, you were lying on your back," Emily said. Serena shook her head.

"I know."

"It's okay to be scared."

"Don't move. This might sting a little bit," Serena reached into her bag, where she carried a first aid kit. Emily tried her best not to let the stinging get to her.

"Stupid bullet…"

"You know, you're supposed to avoid them, right?"

"Don't change the subject," Emily shook her head and looked to her sister, "I know how you feel. I was scared of Panorama City."

"I'm not scared of this place."

"Why don't I believe… OW! OW! OW! Serena, stop it! Ow! That hurts!"

"Sorry!" Serena moved her hands away from the wound and grumbled when it started to bleed, "Dammit! Sorry, Emy."

As she tried to work on fixing her mistake, Emily said up and grabbed her wrist, "You're preoccupied."

"Emy…"

"No. Stop. What are you thinking about? Why does this place and Leanne getting me a wheelchair bother you so much? Because I would kind of like not having to rely on piggy back rides to get around _all _the time."

"I felt vulnerable in the wheelchair, remember?"

"But you learned to kick butt! Remember?"

"That doesn't change the fact that I was vulnerable and scared and… this place just reminds me of that. Okay? Now can I treat you before you bleed to death?"

Emily nodded and lay back down, letting Serena get to work. She let out a sigh.

"Sorry we have to come here."

"Em…"

"I'm glad Riley's okay and stuff… but it's my fault. Those guys saw I used my Symbol Power and… they're jerks, but they aren't stupid. I guess they recognized me from… you know, last time I nearly blew my cover."

"Em, it's not your fault. You did a good thing. If it weren't for you…"

"Those guys wouldn't have shot at Riley if I wasn't there. They maybe would have pushed her around a bit and taken the money, but that's not as bad as this."

"Riley ran away. That's not your fault. You got her home, and thanks to you those guys didn't get away with all that money they stole. You should be a hero."

"Shouldn't we all? But we're here, underground, hiding from the world."

"It's not your fault," Serena shook her head, finished with Emily's leg and put her brace back on. She gave her sister a kiss on the forehead, "I'll talk to Leanne about that wheelchair, okay? Though, it's not hard getting around on crutches, you know."

"You can't pop a wheelie and make Antonio jealous on crutches," Emily gave Serena a little smile, "Thanks."


	33. No Backup

"This place is pretty amazing," Jayden commented to his sister as they sat at the top of a cliff, overlooking the view of the Academy. From where they were, they could see the entire grounds. The massive Academy building towered over nearly everything, and housed students, supplies, dojos, senseis, visitors, kitchens, hospitals and more. Though many of students had lives outside of the Ninja Academy, there was really no reason to leave. Everything they ever wanted and needed could be found in the Academy.

And if that wasn't enough, they had the beautiful outdoors. With the air, water, and earth elemental Ninjas all in one place, the scenery was amazing. The skies were clear and blue, there were beautiful rivers, oceans, and waterfalls, and the foliage was unlike Jayden or Lauren had ever seen before.

"Mhm," Lauren simply nodded her head and sighed as she took a seat beside her brother, "This place is… wow but…"

"But? What kind of but can you come up with?" Jayden pointed again to the view, "Lauren, this place is incredible. It would have made dedicating our lives to training… well, worth it if we got to grow up here."

"Look at all those students. There must be hundreds down there, and thousands who have passed through those gates," Lauren said. "I feel… little."

"You are little," Jayden gently nudged his sister, "You haven't grown since you left all those years ago."

"Shut up. I'm not even shortest."

"That's not saying much," Jayden chuckled. Lauren rolled her eyes and pointed to the students.

"Look at that group. There must be twenty air ninjas in that section alone. And look at how amazing they are. Why don't we have something like this? A Samurai Academy?"

"We do. The Shiba House. Where Samurai families come to train…"

"One person from every family. In many cases, if something happens to them, we've run out of that family. We're lucky it's only happened once."

"A long, long, long time ago," Jayden nodded. "No one remembers that. How do you know that?"

"I was supposed to be the almighty red Ranger, remember? When I wasn't beating up my sensei, or painting Symbols, I had my nose in history books. Some of those books hadn't been touched in so long I've found extinct bugs inside of them. Dead, of course."

"You're kidding," Jayden turned to his sister, but she never took her eyes off the training ground.

"I care about you, Jayden. You know I do. You're my baby brother…"

"I told you, Lauren. You can't blame yourself for me taking your place. It was dad's plan, and he knew what he was doing. Besides, to protect you, I'd have volunteered in a heartbeat. Man, now I know how Emily feels when we keep…"

"Jayden, just shut up and listen for a minute," Lauren snapped and then looked to her brother apologetically, "Sorry. It's just… wouldn't it have been a little easier if there had been more?"

"More what?"

"More of us."

"Shibas?"

"I guess, but I just mean… do you know the story behind the Wind and Thunder Rangers?"

"Not really," Jayden shrugged. "I've heard some details, but never anything…"

"They came from Academies. The Wind Ninjas trained here, and the Thunder Ninjas trained in a similar Academy. Out of many, they were the chosen ones."

"So?"

"Out of many. So if they weren't good enough, or couldn't do it, they still had a whole school of people to pick from."

"Not the way I heard it. Ten years ago, Lothor abducted all but the five ninjas and the one Samurai who defeated him. The world rested on their shoulders. Just like it did ours. They didn't have any backup plans."

"Alright, fine. But they still have something we don't. Look over there," Lauren pointed again to the group of air Ninjas training, "That student's been screwing up the entire time we've been up here. I can see that even from this distance."

"So?"

Lauren rolled her eyes, "So, look. His entire class is helping him out. They're showing him how it's done, taking it step by steps, and from what I can tell from here, they're giving him tips. Did you ever receive tips?"

"Ji…"

"For your Fire Symbols."

Jayden shook his head. Lauren leaned back and let out another sigh, "I'm sorry, Jayden. I'm being a downer and I know it. The view is amazing but…"

"It would have been a lot easier knowing there was a backup," Jayden nodded. He took Lauren's hand in his, "I get it and we did have a backup. We had other. But I get what you mean. There was no way I wanted to let you down or put you in danger."

"And I hated every moment of you being in danger."

"But maybe it was the kick in the pants we needed," Jayden gave his sister a little smile, "I trained every day, and I gave everything my best effort because I knew that if I failed, we all failed. That's not something you get when you know that it's okay to screw up. Look again at those students. Now they're just goofing off."

"It looks fun," Lauren chuckled as one student fell on his ass.

"It is fun," Jayden nodded his head and remembered the times where Mike had done something similar, "But that's not the way a defender of the Earth should train. We worked our butts off, Lauren, and sometimes it would have been nice to get a little relief. But because we worked hard, because we sacrificed so much, we still have our whole lives to relax and have fun. Come next year, you're barely going to remember a time without laughter and pranks and goofing off and strange things."

"I don't think that's possible."

"I do. We're going to be okay. Great, even."

Lauren nodded her head and looked out at the view while Jayden got up and brushed the dirt from his pants. Lauren had an idea and turned around, looking to her brother.

"Our names are going to be cleared, right?"

"Ji's got _a lot _of friends. I'm sure we'll be home soon."

"I want to start an academy. You know just as well as I do how many people have lost everything, and even if we clear our names, that won't stop people from losing faith in the Rangers."

"What's your point? The Nighlok are gone. No one has to worry about that happening ever again."

"We know that. The people back home don't. What if we stepped up? Maybe not as Rangers, but as experienced martial artists and swordsmen. What if we taught the city to defend itself?"

"Like, open up a dojo? That sounds like a lot of work."

"We're not strangers to a lot of work. What do you say?"

"Business partners? Will I have time? I want to take classes and stuff and…"

"Business classes sound interesting?"

"Not the ones I've seen," Jayden shook his head.

"Please, Jay? It'll be good for the city, and who knows when the next evil might turn up? People need to feel safe, and who better to depend on than yourself? We can do this!"

"Can I think about it… what are you doing?"

"Emily taught me this," Lauren looked up at her brother innocently, "She called it the puppy look."

"Or the cookie face. Stop it. That's adorable," Jayden turned his head away from his sister. She got up and grabbed him, hugging him tightly and forced him to look at her again.

"I'm not really trained to do anything but fight," Lauren begged her brother, "It'll be years, or decades even, before I can get myself qualified to do anything else, and though it's been a rough ride, I do love training and all this Samurai stuff. Please, please, please?"

"Stop with the face! Okay, okay, whatever you want!" Jayden pushed his sister away, "You and Emily are not allowed to hang out anymore."

"You can't do that."

"My decision making abilities are being jeopardized by your relationship with the cookie monster. If you value me making any life-changing, important decisions for myself and our family, you and Emily are not… stop it."

"But I like hanging out with Emily. And Serena. And Mia."

"Fine. Do what you want, just stop with the eyes."

"Thanks, baby brother," Lauren reached up and ruffled her brother's hair. Jayden grumbled, knowing she had learned that from Serena. He let out a huff and stomped off. "Jay, where are you going?"

"To make more poor decisions. What tattoo do you think I should get?"

Lauren chuckled and followed her brother down the cliff with a smile, "Maybe we should come up with a name for our new business. Something fire related, but not too obvious. We don't want the city knowing we're Rangers if they're pissed off at us."


	34. Blame Game And Swim Lessons

While most of the Samurai were adjusting to their new living arrangements in Ninja Ops and in the Wind Ninja Academy, Serena joined her husband in what was their temporary room. Terran was sound asleep in a crib the Ninjas had prepared for him and James was passed out on the bed. Serena lay beside him but couldn't shut her brain down long enough to even think of sleep.

What Emily said had bothered her. Not the part about the wheelchair. Serena had talked to Leanne about that, and one would be arriving for Emily shortly, as well as a pair of custom crutches so Emily could travel places on the Academy grounds that didn't allow for wheelchairs. Serena had taken her sister's advice, leaned on her, and though the Wind Ninja Academy did still bring up thought of her time in the wheelchair, Serena wasn't as terrified anymore.

She couldn't be. What was really bothering her was what her sister had said after that. The reason the Samurai had been forced to escape hadn't been because of Emily – although she wasn't blame free. Serena knew that had she not gone and gotten herself arrested, the city never would have been able to connect her or her friends to the Samurai Rangers, and they wouldn't be hunted down. Serena had revealed her face, her name, and as a result, her identity and the identity of those around her. Somehow, and very quickly, connections had been made. Two and two had been put together, and now the world they had protected had turned against them.

And Emily blamed herself. Worse than that; Serena let Emily believe she was to blame.

She couldn't spit it out, though. No one really knew what she had done. She had mentioned going to jail, but then had been rushed out of the door. No one had time to question her and by now it seemed they had forgotten.

Just when Serena thought she would try to get some sleep, the bed shifted. James rolled over, opened his eyes and saw his wife lying next to him. Seeing her worried face, he sat up.

"We can talk now. About everything."

"The wheelchair thing freaks me out. This was where it happened," Serena said quickly. She had talked this over with Emily and didn't need to repeat the conversation with James, "It's the prison thing. I gave my real name."

"Why?"

"I think it's been established I'm a huge screw up," Serena groaned. "And I wasn't going to give Emily's name. She's the reason I did this. I couldn't have her…"

"Every time you try to help her, you screw up," James got out of bed and walked to the bathroom. "You always make things worse for everyone."

"Don't I get points for trying?"

"When are you going to tell the others?" James asked. "I think it's important they know…"

"How I got myself arrested?"

"How the city found out and why we're in danger."

"We?"

"I'm part of this. There's no way I'm not. Just knowing you is…"

"Don't go there," Serena growled and shook her head. Then she looked to James, "We're going to figure something out, right?"

"As a team. You need to tell them. It's the only way we'll get to the bottom of this. It's the only way we're going to be able to go back home."

"I'll tell them tomorrow," Serena promised. "Right now, I need a nap."

"I'm going to have a look around. I've always liked Ninjas. I want to see what the Academy is like."

-Samurai-

Kevin went around the room, organizing it the way he wanted, while Mia moved around some fragile or not-child-friendly decorations out of Riley's reach. Riley, meanwhile, watched her adoptive parents as they got settled in and tried to make a home out of just one room. Already, Riley's bed was a bunch of pillows and blankets on the floor.

"When are we going home?" she asked and didn't get a response from either parent. She frowned, "Ignoring people is rude."

"Sorry, Riley," Mia turned to the girl and shrugged her shoulder, "We don't have an answer, yet."

"Is this because of what I did at the money place?" Riley asked. "Are we bad guys now? I didn't touched any money. I didn't…"

"You're not in trouble."

"Are you in trouble with the lady? Does she want to take me away?"

Mia and Kevin exchanged looks and then turned to the clock by the bed. They were supposed to be in a meeting with Sabrina Clarkson, the social worker for Riley, but because their identities had been compromised they had to leave. Unfortunately, they couldn't leave Riley behind. They were responsible for taking care of her, and they were going to do it no matter where they were. Unfortunately again, missing the meeting and fleeing with Riley did nothing to help them, If anything, it hurt them. As far as Sabrina was concerned, Mia and Kevin were M.I.A. The coincidence would have been funny, had their future and Riley's well-being not been on the line.

"You know we're never letting anyone take you from us, right?" Kevin reminded the little girl. "Your home is with us, no matter where that is."

"Even here?"

"Even here," Mia nodded and then smiled, "You know, this place isn't that bad. They train Ninjas here. Maybe you can take a few lessons…"

"Or, I can get started on those swimming lessons I promised you and Aunt Lauren," Kevin smirked. Mia and Riley looked to him quizzically.

"Auntie Lauren can't swim?"

"Swimming isn't a to-do for Aunt Lauren," Kevin shook his head and turned to Mia, who still seemed confused, "Fire girl."

Mia nodded her head. Now she understood a bit better why the great, mysterious red Ranger couldn't swim, though it still seemed odd.

Kevin turned his attention back to Riley, "I know a sensei here: Tori. She's water just like me."

"You're water? Why? Did you melt? I didn't know you were an ice cube before."

"I'm the water Samurai Ranger, Riles. We talked about this."

"No you're not," Riley shook her head and giggled. Kevin was sure she was doing it on purpose.

"Do you want to learn how to swim or not? Tori's probably got a pool or a lake around here somewhere we can use. Might as well make the most of…"

"Swim? Like, in water?" Riley asked and started to shake her head fearfully, "Nahuh! No way! Water is stupid!"

"Riley…"

"I'm not swimming! I don't want to learn," Riley got up, ran to Mia and grabbed her legs tightly, "Tell him I don't have to learn to swim."

"Riley, it's a good skill to have."

"No! I don't want to! I hate water!"

"You're going to be fine. I'm not going to let anything happen to you," Kevin promised and gave Riley a comforting smile, "And Aunt Lauren will be right there. She'll be learning too…"

"No! Water is stupid! I hate it!" Riley screamed and stormed out of the room, slamming the door as she left. Kevin looked up to Mia with a tired sigh.

"Okay, that kid and I have to have something in common. This time, it wasn't me, right?"

"No," Mia shook her head. "Do you want me to talk to her? She still isn't your biggest fan. Maybe if she hears the idea from me, she'll be more open to trying it."

"Can you try? I really think this might help us, you know? Get her to trust me a bit more."

"You don't plan on _accidentally_ drowning her so you can save her, right?"

"Of course not! Mia, why would I…"

"Just checking," Mia shrugged, "I mean, you did push her down the stairs."

"Not on purpose!"

"Sorry," Mia chuckled. She gave Kevin a kiss on the cheek, "I can talk to her. See what's bothering her. Just get those lessons started."

"Okay. Oh, and don't tell the others about Lauren. I don't think she's announcing that she can't swim."

"My lips are sealed," Mia said as she walked out of the room. Kevin finished arranging the little details of the decorations so they were perfect and then shrugged his shoulders.

"I wouldn't _accidentally_ drown her," he said to himself, "but if she were to almost drown and it really was by accident, that might be a huge help… Then again, knowing that little hard head, she would still find a way to blame me."


	35. Fear And Wheels

Despite Riley's hated for water, Mia found the little girl by a lake. Riley was tossing waters, breaking the surface of the water, creating ripples, and making large splashes, as the size of her rocks were rather big for skipping stones.

"What are you doing?" Mia asked as she came up beside Riley and knelt next to her.

"I hate the water," Riley shook her head. "I don't want to learn how to swim. I hate it! I hate it! I hate it!"

Riley tossed what could almost be called a boulder, then stomped her foot and stuck out her tongue as the water splashed up, "I hope that hurt, you stupid water! I hate you!"

"Why do you hate the water so much, Riles? It can be fun. You love bath time. Swimming is like taking a bath, but better…"

"NO!" Riley tossed another rock into the water, throwing it angrily as she screamed: "It's stupid! It's mean! I hate it! It's going to take me away too!"

"Riley," Mia tried to gently grab her arm, but Riley pulled away, found another rock and threw it into the water. She was closer to the edge now and the rock was huge. She couldn't toss it far, so when it splashed, some of the water came back on Riley, soaking her little body as Riley let out another scream, "NO!"

Mia took the girl in her arms and hugged her tightly. Riley squirmed and cried while reaching down to her leg to scratch it. Mia remembered the burn she had acquired when her brother saved her from the Sanzu Water, and she remembered the burn was gone. There was a faint trace of a scar, but nothing noticeable to anyone who didn't know it was there.

With her finger, Mia made a towel from Symbol Power and wrapped it around Riley, "This water isn't bad water, Riley. That water that burned you, it's never coming back. I promise, you're never going to have to worry about that water again."

Riley wrapped her arms around Mia's neck, "Sometimes, I still see him. He's downing."

"Drowning? Who?"

"Peter, and Muffin. In the scary water."

"In your nightmares?" the nightmares were less prevalent now that Riley knew she had a safe home with Mia and Kevin, but they did still come up. Riley shared them with Mia, sometimes spilling all the details and sometimes keeping her nightmares more reserved, but Mia knew there was a recurring theme: the death of her parents, her brother, and her cat. Though Riley was very resilient, and very brave, the war had left its mark on her forever. Mia hugged her daughter close and kissed her cheek, "It's never coming for you again, Riley. I promise. We're going to teach you how to swim so that the water can't get you like it did last time. You're not going to drown like Peter or Muffin."

"I miss my brother," Riley squeezed Mia and hid her face in her shoulder. "Sometimes he was mean, but he always taked care of me."

"I know," Mia nodded her head and started to head back to Ninja Ops. "We can talk about this a little more tomorrow. But I promise, Riley, I'm never going to let anything hurt you. Do you trust me?"

"Yeah. I never let anything hurt you either. Promise."

-Samurai-

Mike had gotten his well-deserved rest, and was in the main room of Ninja Ops playing a card game with Emily in the morning while they wanted for a wheelchair to be delivered by one of the Ninjas. Despite her initial protest, Serena had finally given in after talking about her fears with Emily, and she was no longer depriving her sister of mobility. Emily would no long need to wait for someone to agree to give her a piggy back before she could get around. Though the Wind Ninja Academy was not very accessible, it was still a huge step up from having to spend her days on the couch. At the very least, she could go to the bathroom and get herself something to eat from the fridge without relying on someone else.

Finally, they heard footsteps coming down the stairs and Emily dropped her cards, revealing her hand to Mike.

"You did have a six!"

"I just picked it up," Emily stuck out her tongue and smile brightly when she saw the chair coming down the stairs. "Yay! I can walk! Mike, carry me!"

"What?" Mike asked with a little laugh as he took Emily in his arms and lifted her up. Emily was already bouncing, excited to be able to move around on her own. She didn't even notice the ninja who came to deliver the chair.

Dustin lowered the chair to the ground, and as Mike placed Emily inside of it he lowered his head in shame and started to walk away. It had been a long time ago now, but Dustin still remembered the fateful day. Emily had trusted him to train and protect Serena while she learned to use Symbol Power without her Samuraizer. Serena's safety had been a huge concern of Emily's, and she had asked Dustin to train Serena to harness her power without tools so Serena always had an extra level of protection. Instead, Dustin had fallen for Dayu's plan, allowed the other ninjas to convince him Serena was responsible for Sensei Kanoi Watanabe's death, and his lack of trust, led to Serena being captured, tortured, almost killed, and paralyzed by Dayu. Emily had screamed loudly at him when she came to take her sister home, blaming him, as well as the others. Though he had received news that Serena had relearned to walk and was doing well, Dustin still couldn't get over his part in her pain.

Emily rolled back and forth with the chair, but stopped and turned around to look at Dustin when she noticed he was leaving.

"Thank you," she smiled and Dustin could hear it in her voice. It only hurt him more. He tried not to turn around, but now that he had been seen he couldn't just leave, especially when he knew the chair was needed because of Emily's broken leg. When they had met over a year ago, the two earths had bonded. Dustin saw himself in Emily, with the goofy, child-like attitude, the warm smile, and the kind, open heart. He cared for her. He didn't want to hurt her, or see her hurt.

"Emily, I…"

"Come here," Emily waved him over and signaled for him to bend down. Dustin did so, but closed his eyes, fearing he would be smacked in the face for what he had done. Instead, Emily wrapped her arms around him tightly. Dustin jumped, a little startled, and almost lifted Emily from her seat. She giggled into his ear. "I'm not going to hurt you. I'm sorry. I shouldn't have blamed you for what happened."

"But I…"

"It's okay," Emily shook her head. "My sister's okay and, I guess when it really mattered, you did believe in her. Besides, she learned to kick butt in the wheelchair, and it gave James the push he needed to ask her to marry him. Serena's a stronger and better person now so… I guess, thank you."

"Still, Emily, I'm really sorry. I'll apologize to Serena, too. We all will, and we're going to make it up to her, to you, and to your whole team…"

"There's no need. You're forgiven. Unless there's cake."

"Cake, cookies, ice-cream…"

"Oh no," Mike rolled his eyes while Emily's lit up.

"Apology not accepted, and you're not forgiven until I get some cake, ice-cream, and cookies! In that order!"

Dustin chuckled and put his hand on Emily's shoulder, "You'll get some either way. We all saw how you guys kicked Nighlok butt. I think we're going to have a celebration one night."

"You better," Emily smiled. "I'm looking forward to it, so don't disappoint me. You won't like it when I'm sugar-free and disappointed."

Dustin shook his head and then pointed to the brace on Emily's leg, "So, Leanne kind of told me what happened. You broke your fib… thing."

"I got shot!" Emily cried excitedly. Mike, who was putting away the cards, rolled his eyes. Unlike the other times, Emily was rather proud of this injury. She did complain when it needed to be cleaned and the bandages needed to be changed, and the thought of being shot did scare her a little, but telling other people she got hurt by getting shot seemed to be a fun story for her to tell.

That, or she liked the reaction of others when they heard little Emily had been in a gunfight and came out with nothing more than a broken fibula and a wounded muscle from where the bullet had torn through her calf. She would walk again, that was guaranteed.

"You were shot! By who?" Dustin's reaction was one of panic. His eyes shot open in shock when he heard, and he looked down at Emily's leg, and then up at her, and then down at her leg again. "How did that happen? Who do I have to kill?"

Emily smiled and shook her head, "No one. I'm okay. Or, I will be. I just need to stay off it for a while. Thus, the chair. Think you can teach me to pop a wheelie? My friend Antonio loves to mess around and show off in wheelchairs, and I wanna show him up."

"If you two are done flirting," Mike teased after finishing with the cards he went to the computer. He had heard it was childproofed, but hoped Cam had left it capable of playing video games, "can one of you tell me how to turn this thing on?"

"Dude, you might not want to mess with that. It's Cam's baby, and it you break it, you die," Dustin shook his head and grabbed Mike by the arm to pull him away from the computer, "I'm serious."

"Wait? Really? There's this giant computer here and I'm not supposed to play games with it?"

"It sucks, huh?"

"Dustin, don't you motocross?" Emily asked. The earth Ninja turned to her and nodded his head. Emily gave him a smile and then looked to Mike, "Why don't you get some lessons with Dustin? It sounds fun."

"It really does," Mike nodded his head, and Dustin was quick to agree. Before they left, both men looked to Emily, "Em, you'll be okay here until the others get up?"

"Yeah. I can walk now," Emily rolled the chair back and forth with a smile, "Go, have fun."

"Have you ever ridden before?" Dustin asked as he led Mike away, and the green Ranger shook his head.

"No, but I've played a few motocross video games. Is it anything like…?"

"Nope," Dustin shook his head. "It's way better. I think Tori's got a few spare helmets in her van. We'll get your geared up and then on the track. The one I built here is sick."


	36. Swimming Lessons

Lauren clutched her towel tightly as Kevin led her, Riley, and Mia to a private lake at the Academy. Kevin had told Tori, a water Sensei at the Academy and old friend of his about his swimming lessons (without being too specific for Lauren's sake) and she had given him a tip on a lake no one knew about but her and her friends. Promising they would have to all to themselves, Kevin thought the afternoon was a good time for his swimming lessons.

The Fire Samurai wasn't scared of water. She knew she had nothing to be scared of, but her connection to the fire element made her a little weary where water was concerned. She had never been taught to swim. For one reason or another, it was an important skill that her sensei and mentor never considered teaching her. In their minds, if she found herself submerged in water, it would be Sanzu Water and she would be dead anyways. She had better things to do with her time, like Symbol Power training, sword training, and practicing the Sealing Symbol.

She wanted to learn to swim, though, knowing that it was a good summer sport, group activity, and it was something Kevin loved to do. Now that Xandred was gone and Lauren could focus on having a real life and friends, she wanted to find something to do with each of them. With her brother, she planned on opening a dojo to teach kids, teenagers, and adults how to fight. Being a Samurai was all she knew how to do. It was her passion, and the thought of sharing that passion with people to help make the city a better place excited her.

With Antonio, her future brother in-law, she was going to try her hand at fishing. The idea wasn't appealing to her, but Antonio loved it. Lauren didn't have any interests of her own outside of training, and so the only compromise that could be made was fishing. Lauren wasn't afraid of a challenge and the new experience, and was sure Antonio was going to find a way to make the experience _golden_.

Mia, Serena, and Emily were girls, and Lauren found herself naturally drawn to them for advice, talks, and having a good time. They already had some things in common. Like Lauren, Serena and Mia were also older sisters. Serena, obviously, was Emily's older sister, and had a lifetime of do's, don'ts, as well as tricks and pranks to play on her little sister that Lauren could use on Jayden or even Emily. Mia had only recently found out about her younger brother Terry, but was an older sister at heart, and despite the lack of natural experience, she had advice Lauren could count on. Mia's practice came from acting as a surrogate sister to Emily, and an adoptive sister to Mike. She knew all about making her place in her little sibling's lives and bonding with them without the lifetime of shared memories.

Emily wasn't anyone's older sister, but she had the open heart, and after getting over the betrayal Lauren and Jayden's secret, she had bonded quickly with Lauren and was excited at the thought of being cousins. It was a bit of a stretch but with Ji, Lauren's new somewhat father, dating Kate, Emily and Serena's aunt, there was a bit of a family connection. Ji and Kate didn't plan on getting married, yet, but they were living together. It was good enough for Emily and good enough for Lauren.

Mike loved his video games, so Lauren wanted to try them out and see what all the fuss was about. She didn't really understand the virtual world, and how it was so much more exciting to Mike to live a life on a little screen, but he did have a passion for it, and Lauren wanted to be able to connect with him, so she had plans to try out a few of his games and spend a few hours in front of the TV.

With all those things on her 2013 wish list, Lauren needed to cross something off, and Kevin was giving her the chance to get started with swimming. Lauren hoped maybe she would learn to swim so that by the summer she could spend her days at the beach with her friends and they could bond even more. The thought of having a picnic in the sand, under the hot sun, by the shore, with her friends laughing and playing around with each other warmed her heart.

"We're here," Kevin dropped his things by the lake and took in a deep breath of fresh air. It was winter, but the Ninja Academy had warm weather unlike Panorama City. It still wasn't ideal for swimming, but Kevin didn't need to worry about hypothermia or either of his students getting sick.

In fact, Mia was lathering Riley in sunscreen.

"Mia!"

"Don't even get me started on how much sunburns can hurt," Mia shook her head, "When you're not redder than your Auntie Lauren, you're going to thank me."

Kevin chuckled and turned to Lauren, "Mia got a bad sunburn in the summer. I told her to put on sunscreen, but she didn't listen. Our tomatoes were never as red as she was."

"Ouch," Lauren hissed. She had always been careful under the sun because of her fair skin but she knew a thing or two about burns. Her childhood had been full of them before she mastered her fire Symbol.

"Ready to get in the water?" Kevin asked. "Riley's got to wait for the sunscreen to sink in, so you'll go first. It's probably a good thing. She can see from you that water's not dangerous."

"I doubt that," Lauren gulped. Kevin took off his shirt and stepped into the water.

"Look, it's not even that deep. Just walk in. It's easy."

Lauren nodded her head and put one foot in the water, and then the other. She followed Kevin further and further into the lake until the water was up to her waist. Kevin stopped her there and touched her arm.

"Lean back. I'm going to teach you how to float, first. Riley, are you watching?"

Riley hid behind Mia's legs and was peeking through her fingers, terrified for her aunt Lauren, "Y-yeah…"

Kevin rolled his eyes and turned his attention back to Lauren, "Okay, I promise I'm not going to let anything happen to you. Jayden would kill me. So you have to trust me."

"I wouldn't be in here if I didn't," Lauren said and then she started to feel herself slowly falling back into the water. She grabbed Kevin's arm tightly, scared she would go under and not know how to get back up. He held her up and put one hand under her back.

"You have to relax," he told her. "Take a deep breath in and… whoa!"

Lauren's head went under but not for long as Kevin pulled her back up. Surprised she had gone under, she had gotten some water in her mouth and up her nose that needed to be cleared. As she coughed, she heard a little voice calling for her.

"Lauren! Auntie Lauren! Are you dead?"

"She's fine, Riley," Kevin called back and then he started to laugh, "I said breathe in, not out."

"Sorry," Lauren moved the air from her eyes and wiped the water away from her face, "I panicked."

"You have to trust me. The water isn't a bad thing. Just lean back and stay calm."

Lauren did as she was asked. This time, she focused her energy on following Kevin's orders. She slowed her breathing, calmed herself down, and relaxed. She didn't know when it had happened, but at some point, Kevin had let her go. He began to tell her how she was and had been floating on her own naturally.

It was a neat feeling. Lauren had occasionally wondered what flying would feel like, and this was similar to what she thought. Aside from the water, which she could barely feel, there was nothing around her, nothing supporting her or holding her up. It was just her floating in the lake.

"See," Kevin smiled as he helped her stand back up, "You're a natural at this. Riley, do you want to try?"

"NO!"

"It's neat, Riley," Lauren called, hoping her words would encourage the four year old to come into the water. "You're going to feel like a real Power Ranger!"

"Really?"

"Like flying!"

Riley stepped away from Mia and held her arms out, "Water-wing me, Mia. I'm going in!"

-Samurai-

While Mia, Kevin, and Lauren were practicing swimming, Serena paced back and forth in the main room of Ninja Ops as a thousand words passed through her mind at once. She was going to tell the others about her little stunt that had landed her in prison, and why exactly the city was hunting down the Samurai like they had been responsible for all the chaos and destruction and all the lives lost.

Mike came back from his motocross riding lesson with Dustin. He was sweaty and covered in dirt but the smile on his face made it obvious he had a good time. As he started to peel off all the layers of protective gear he saw Serena and his eyes lit up.

"Dude, you have to see this massive bruise I…"

"Can you sit down?" Serena asked and pointed to the table in the middle of the room. Mike looked to it strangely.

"Do Ninjas not like chairs or something?" Mike asked as he took a seat on the green cushion, "What's up? Everything okay? You look a little pale? Is Emily okay?"

"Yeah… yeah…" Serena nodded her head and was really worried about the talk she was preparing herself to have. In the past, they had never ended well. Someone always hated her and what she had done, and that someone was usually Emily. Everything she did always affected her sister, sometimes more than the others, and this time was no different. Emily was affected because she and the others all had to drop their lives suddenly and go into hiding. It was a huge inconvenience, especially when the Samurai were trying to get their lives started. Mia and Kevin had those meetings with the social worker, as well as papers and forms to complete. Kevin had a new job he had to drop suddenly. Antonio had only just gotten his business up and running again, and had to shut it down so he could run away. The lack of consistency was sure to kill his business, and though Jayden had a lot of money (enough to be able to support the Samurai and the Shiba Family for generations without worry), Antonio worked because he loved it, and a lack of interest was surely going to kill him.

School had started up, and Serena and Mike were both supposed to be at the city High School. Serena wanted to take back her position as a bullying prevention coach and Mike was filling in for James as an assistant coach. After James quit due to an embarrassing and very publicly made private incident, the school hadn't been able to find a full-time, long term coach to take his place. Mike needed a job, was good with sports, especially football, which the school loved, and so the match was perfect. Not turning up to work (again for Serena) was going to ruin their performance and likely get them both fired.

Jayden wanted to go to school and take a few classes – but the semester had started and he was in hiding. He was going to have to wait, or convince the school and his professors to let him start taking the classes late, but that was only if he got home on time.

The more Serena thought about it, the more she realized how heavy her mistake was. It had been well intentioned. Serena never did anything she thought would hurt her friends. In the end, she had screwed up. The others needed to know.

They came to the main room without being asked. First it was Emily, who rolled in with Terran on her lap, promising to get him a snack to hold him over until dinner, and then came James. Jayden and Antonio came in shortly afterwards, ready to leave to check out a few of the lessons taking place on the training grounds, but they stopped when they saw everyone was being called for a meeting.

"What's going on?" Antonio took a seat on the yellow cushion and had a look around.

Serena knew she was still missing a few heads, but she had to get it out. She didn't want everyone to be angry with her, and for that reason wanted to bottle it all up, but the truth would come out. It was best just to get it over with.

"I think… I know… The city didn't find out by accident…"

-Samurai-

Riley took her instructions from Kevin, but wouldn't swim out of arm's reach from Mia, which frustrated Kevin greatly. Mia had only tagged along so Riley felt safe. She didn't know the first thing about the technique to swimming or how to teach anyone, let alone a child, how to swim. She tried her best, but it wasn't working.

Lauren tried to help out as well, and with her by Riley's side the little girl, with the water wings, would flail from Mia's arms to Lauren's, but it wasn't swimming, it was surviving. Kevin didn't want Riley to survive in the water, he wanted her to enjoy it like he had when he had been her age. Though a lot of his time in pools and lakes had been dedicated to training, he had very fond memories of playing around in the water with his father. If he was going to be that person in Riley's life, he wanted her to have those memories to look back on. She wanted her to say, "I remember that time with my father when I was little…"

"Riley, can I…"

"NO!" Riley shook her head and clung to Mia's arm, "I'm doing just fine! I no need your help."

"But Riley…"

"I'm getting kind of cold," Mia said and shivered slightly, "I think it's time I get out."

"I'm not cold," Riley looked up. Mia shook her head.

"You can keep swimming. You're okay with Kevin," Mia insisted and pried the little girl from her arm. She placed Riley in Kevin's and started to walk back to shore, "C'mon, Lauren, I packed some sandwiches. We'll have an early dinner."

"Sounds good," Lauren wasn't cold, but she could see what Mia was trying to do and so played along. She and Mia got out of the lake and sat by the shore to watch.

Riley looked to Kevin with a huff, "See what you maded them do?"

"Riley, I can teach you how to swim," Kevin insisted and put her in the water, making sure to keep his hands near her. Even with the water wings, she risked drowning. She was still learning she had to actively try and keep her head up. "Once you know how to swim, we can go to pools and lakes like this one and play. We can have water fights and play games and…"

"I no want to learn to swim," Riley shook her head. "Water is stupid."

"No it's not. It's really cool," Kevin told her as he grabbed her again and lay her back in the water, "You liked floating. It feels like you're flying, right?"

"Yeah," Riley smiled and then tried to roll over but forgot that meant she would be facing the water. Her face went under and she scrambled to get back up. Kevin lifted her only seconds after she couldn't breathe and he held her up, "You did that on purpose!"

"No, I didn't. I never want that to happen to you, Riley."

"Peter knowed how to swim. Water still killed him."

"This water isn't dangerous," Kevin said. "This water is safe, and as long as you stay with me, you're safe too. Can we try something? Will you let me teach you something?"

"No."

"Not even something fun?" Kevin asked and waved over to the shore where Mia and Lauren were eating. Mia reached into her back and pulled out a lifejacket. She tossed it in the water and Kevin could barely reach it. He grabbed it, took Riley in his arms and got the life jacket on her, removing the water wings Riley loved.

"Hey!"

"I'm going to show you something really cool, okay?"

"Like what?"

"You know how you're always jumping on the bed and the furniture?"

"Yeah."

"Try jumping in the water."

Riley was put back in the water, where she floated with ease thanks to the lifejacket. She bent her knees and kicked up, but barely got a few inches high. Instead, she bobbed up and down and giggled.

"That's funny."

Kevin grabbed her under her arms and lifted her up and down. Riley laughed again. Weightless, the bobbing felt like a ride. Her legs kicked out, giving her more power. Suddenly, Kevin lifted her high above the water and then all but dropped her back in. He kept a hold on her, and the life jacket stopped her head from going under. Riley squealed with laughter as the splash surrounded her, bringing water high up in the air and then it came crashing down again.

"Again!"

"How about, this time…" Kevin picked her up and launched her into the water. He didn't throw her far, not wanting her to get out of arm's length, but just far enough so she could fly through the air and then splash in the water. He got soaked when she landed, and there was a silence. It was a huge risk throwing her in because he wasn't sure how she would react.

"That was awesome!" Riley was wiping water away from her face but Kevin could see it: there was a huge smile on her face. She was happy, she was excited, and she liked the water.

"Want to see a bigger splash?" he took her back in his arms and started to walk to shore. He set her down on the dirt and then walked to a tree that had a branch that hung over the lake. He climbed up to that branch, jumped in the water and made the biggest splash Riley had ever seen.

"I want to do that!" Riley started to run for the tree but Mia caught her by the life jacket.

"Not until you learn to swim by yourself," she shook her head. Kevin swam back to shore, but didn't have a chance to make it back all the way as Riley raced back into the water and into his arms.

"Teach me! I want to do that!"


	37. Play The Sympathy Card

Kate's hands trembled as she sat on her bed in her cell, waiting for something to happen. The police had turned up at the Shiba House and had broken in. Fortunately, the Rangers had gotten out on time, but Kate and Ji hadn't been so lucky. They had been tackled to the ground by armed forces and brought to the jail cells where they would be held until the prison was rebuilt. The jail wasn't built to hold the Rangers. Had they been here they could have escaped. A patch job in the wall made escape even easier, but if Kate was going to give the Rangers time to escape and come up with a plan to turn this around, she needed to stay in jail and keep the city focused on her and Ji.

They were being interrogated like there was no tomorrow, and the investigators held nothing back. Given the age, the body shape, the height and weight, neither Kate nor Ji were believed to be Rangers, but they knew something and that was enough for everyone.

Next door, Kate saw Ji being shoved roughly into his cell and it looked like he had a couple of bruises on his face. Some people were more upset than others with the Rangers, having lost a lot more in the final war, and they couldn't control their anger. Kate, for the most part, was spared physical abuse, but Ji wasn't so fortunate. Jumping up from the bed, Kate rushed over and looked through the cell to Ji.

"Are you okay?"

"They cannot hurt me," Ji was staying strong. A slap to the face wasn't enough to hurt him or break his spirit. He was a Samurai mentor, after all, and had taken much worse hits. He had the scars to prove it. He looked to Kate softly, putting her a little at ease, "You?"

"Fine, but I'm scared. I heard them talking about families. My dad, my brother, Ellie, and Jack are all in trouble, and Emily and Serena are…"

"Fine," Ji promised her. Unlike Kate, no one could trace his family. He had cut his ties with them when he took up his duties as mentor, and he had done so again after his father had taken orders from Dr. Harada and endangered the Samurai Ji saw as his children.

"What about your contacts?" Kate asked. "Shouldn't they have done something by now?"

"They are hard at work, I promise," Ji reached through the bars and touched Kate's cheek gently, "I think, if this is truly to end, we need to give it time. The city is angry, and rightfully so. They have lost a lot. We need to let this happen."

"Ji, we're not Samurai!" Kate cried and shook her head. "We're not Samurai and they're doing this to us! What are they going to do to the kids if they find them? They've been through enough. We can't let this…"

"I am willing to take the heat for them," Ji said. "I will ride this out, our names will be cleared, and the Samurai will not have to suffer. No one else will have to suffer. These people are scared, they are angry, and they are hurt, and we must let them work through this. I can take it."

Kate nodded her head. Ji was right. A lot of people were angry, and denying them the chance to work through their emotions and pin the blame on someone would only led to more anger and a lot of frustration. It wasn't going to be easy, and by the look of things it was going to hurt, but it was going to be worth it.

"I love you so much," she whispered and leaned in, giving Ji a kiss.

"We're going to be okay," he promised.

"Enough of that!" a loud bang broke them apart as the guards finally returned with two meal trays: one for Ji and one for Kate. He shoved the trays through the cell bars, spilling the food to the floor, "Eat what you can. See if I give a damn."

-Samurai-

The talk went better than expected. Not well, but at least the Samurai were still talking to her. Serena needed to take a moment, and the Samurai needed to process the news. In a way, they were right. Running away and hiding was bound to happen at some point and Serena had just sped up the process, but she could have, and should have told the team what she was doing. She could have kept them informed so they were more prepared to handle the consequences when they did show up. Now, because she had been reckless, they had more on their plate to clean up. It wasn't just their Samurai lives in danger, but their personal lives.

Mia, Kevin, and Lauren had joined the talk mid-way through after bringing home a more than exhausted Riley who had fallen asleep in Kevin's arms after her swimming lesson with him. By the looks on their faces, the lessons went well, but that changed when they got caught up on the meeting.

As it turned out, Mia and Kevin had a confession to make. Shortly before Serena had gone and gotten herself arrested, they had handed Sabrina Clarkson a list of the Samurai's names, phone numbers, and addresses, and the Shiba House had been included on that because it was the place of residence of Riley's godmother. Serena felt a little better knowing the blame wasn't all on her, but she still had played a huge role in the city finding out about the Rangers. If only she had given a fake name. No one would be in trouble then. The list wouldn't have even mattered if she had just given a fake name.

She sat outside Ninja Ops by a little stream. She was tossing rocks into it and waiting for the cooler heads from the others. They weren't shutting her out, but they needed time and Serena was more than happy to give it to them.

"Serena?" she turned around, hearing her name and smiled as the four Senseis came over to her. She had a bit of a rocky relationship with Shane, Dustin, Tori, and Cam, but had forgiven them for what had happened the last time she had been on Ninja soil. They had been grieving, they hadn't been thinking straight, and though it was a preventable accident, they had never intended for Dayu to attack her, and for her to be paralyzed. The looks on their faces as they walked up to her told her they still felt very guilty and very ashamed. They were good people who had let something terrible happen. It was no wonder they still looked very hurt and very scared.

"It's okay, guys. We're cool. Even if I wasn't walking again, I'd forgive you."

Tori was the first to take a seat beside Serena and passed her a newspaper, "Leanne's been making a lot of calls, and some Ninjas have gone to Panorama City to try and get in touch with Ji's friends. They're working hard to fix this mess, but I think there's something you need to see.

"Ji and Kate are in jail?" Serena asked after reading the headline on the paper, "Dammit…"

"They haven't said anything about you guys," Cam said, "I think we can use this to our advantage. A couple of our Ninjas have put themselves in the police squad and… Panorama isn't exactly using conventional methods for interrogations."

"I'm not surprised," Serena shook her head, "You guys didn't see the city. Lauren's Symbol fixed it up pretty quickly, but it was hell."

"I think," Shane said, "You need to… come out. A few of you Samurai might need to open yourselves up to the city. Maybe not reveal who you are but sympathize with the people. A lot of the stories in this paper are from the survivors who do nothing more than put down the Rangers, saying it's because of you that they've lost everything and all the ones they love. We know firsthand being a Ranger involves sacrifice but from the outside, the job looks fun. You kick ass, you wield power, you destroy things, bask in the glory, and then everyone else picks up the pieces."

"That's not true!" Serena cried, "You get your ass kicked! You work your ass of for years for an ounce of power that sometimes kicks your ass! Things try to destroy you! There is no basking in the glory because there's always some new end of the world plan threatening to take you out! And at the end of the day, we've got so many things left to do still! We've got our own shit to take care of! Our own mess to clean up! I've lost an entire wardrobe to blood stains. Everyone I love has almost, or has died on me!"

"The city doesn't know that," Cam put his hand on Serena's shoulder to calm her down a little. He knew exactly what she meant. He had lived through it. He had feared for his life and the life of his friends and family so many times in the past it had driven him to madness. But no one could understand the sacrifice unless they lived it.

"I almost lost my family, my son, my husband… Scruffy died to protect me. Mia's father died. My niece… They don't know."

"Tell them," Cam, Shane, Dustin, and Tori reached into their pockets and pulled out all eight Samuraizers, "We got this from the Ninjas. They found them. I think you just need a few of you to share with the people and they might let this go."

"You think?"

"Do you have anything to lose?" Tori asked and put the white Samuraizer in Serena's hands, "All you've got to do is convince a few. It just takes one voice to make a difference."

"You think it's enough?"

"Just trust us. Anyways, we owe you," Dustin smiled. "You do your part. Don't worry, everything's going to be okay."

"I'll talk to the others. Are you sure…?"

"Positive. You'll be home before you know it," Cam said and opened the door to Ninja Ops for Serena. She gave the Ninjas a smile, took the Samuraizers from them and raced down into the hideout. Cam closed the door behind her and looked to Shane, "You've got the bus tickets, right?"

"Of course I've got the bus tickets," Shane pulled four stubs of paper from his pocket.

"Dude, how long is the drive again?" Dustin asked, "And do you think they've got a burger place? I'm getting hungry."

"You're always hungry," Tori rolled her eyes. "But we're not going there to eat. We're going to…"

"Yeah, I know, but does that mean I can't…"

"No. Just go. And remember, be friendly," Tori shoved the former yellow Ranger down the path and groaned.

"How can I be friendly when I'm starving?"


	38. A Big Turn Around

Mia looked to the crowd a little nervously. Serena had shared the Ninja's plan about talking to Panorama City, but it hadn't gotten off on the right foot.

Not everyone would be talking. It was still too soon after the incident at the bank, and so if a Samurai turned up with a wound to the calf it would confirm their suspicions that the girl at the bank was a Samurai. Emily had to sit out, and blend into the crowd. Fortunately, enough people around the city were hurt, so a brace on her leg and crutches didn't make her stick out. As long as people thought she had just broken her leg, it was all going to be fine.

Kevin and Antonio stayed with her. They had their sympathy and sacrifice stories to share, but nothing really about loss. Of course, Kevin had to sacrifice his dreams of swimming in the Olympics, but his dreams meant little to other people who had lost their homes, their jobs, their parents, spouses, siblings, or children. Antonio had sacrificed a lot as well, and like the other Samurai he had faced danger and trials that the ordinary man couldn't even imagine, but the fact that he had chosen this life, unlike the others who were born into it, kind of ruined any argument for him. He had asked to be a Samurai.

So the white Ranger, the two red Rangers, the green Ranger, and the pink Ranger were all in the middle of the hostile crowd. By now most people had been settled, but some still decided to throw a few drinks and half-eaten snacks their way. Mike got a little frustrated, caught a hot-dog and tossed it back into the crowd.

"You're all ass-holes!" he shouted. Mia grabbed his arm and held him back. Like herself, this was a little distressing for Mike. Both knew what they were going to talk about. It had been a while for both of them, but their losses still hurt them deeply. Mia could still clearly remember Dayu slicing her father's head off, ending his life swiftly and unfairly, and taking no mercy on a man who didn't even belong in the war in the first place.

Mike had to think of Scruffy, and his death played over and over in his head. Were it not for the war, Scruffy would still be alive and happily chasing after balls and squirrels and would be cuddling with Emily at nights. He also had to think of Carrie. Though he knew she was alive in another world, in his world she was dead. He would never see or hear from his daughter again, and would never know what became of her. She was his first; his precious little girl, and she had been taken from him prematurely. She hadn't even made it into the second trimester when Emily miscarried. It still angered Mike to think of how badly Serrator had hurt him.

One by one, the Samurai shared a few of their stories with the crowd. Sometimes they shouted. Mike shouted the most whenever someone interrupted him, called him or the yellow Ranger names. Sometimes, they cried. The tears couldn't be seen behind the helmets, but the body language said enough. It was Lauren who cried the most, which was surprising to everyone. For those who didn't know her, it was weird to see the red Ranger, the leader of the group, and the one they had learned had been key to saving the world break down in tears. For those who did know her, Lauren wasn't one to let her emotions get away from her often. She was opening up to the Samurai but seeing her get so upset about her past in such a public space was very, very shocking. Jayden had to take her in his arms and hold her. He had to finish her life's story for her, while keeping the details that would reveal who she was private.

"Boo-hoo," someone shouted, "Cry me a river. How can we even trust anything you say is true…?"

"Lay off them, dude," someone else cried and shoved the man who was still being hostile. When the Rangers looked out at the crowd, they saw it was Dustin arguing with a stranger, "Someone's behind that spandex. A human being."

"So?"

"So?" Shane shrugged his shoulders, "You're picking on people who've lost just as much as you? Pink's dad died recently in this war."

"Yeah! And the two red Rangers lost their dad too!" Tori added. The Ninjas were all scattered in the crowd, acting like they were a bunch of different voices coming together. As they spoke up for the Samurai, a bunch of other heads started nodding and agreeing.

"We've been ridiculous," a stranger said, "I guess… we overreacted. We're all still alive. Things could have been worst, right?"

"If it weren't for the Samurai Rangers, those monsters would have destroyed everything."

It took some back and forth. There were still some angry shouts, but more and more people spoke up against the hostility and stood in defence of the Samurai Rangers.

But there was one voice that was louder than all the others. One man, who claimed he had watched his wife, sons, and daughter be murdered right in front of his house by a monster, got so angry he lunged at the Samurai. The pink Ranger, Mia, happened to be in his path and was knocked to the ground. She had been caught by surprise, and really she didn't want to fight back given the whole city was watching, and no matter how it happened, a Ranger punching a civilian would never look good.

But the civilian didn't have a clear head. With a strong fist, he punched Mia once in the helmet, then before he could do so a second time, someone interfered.

Riley had been watching in the crowd and stuck beside Kevin while the Samurai gave her speech. She had been a bit bored for a while because she couldn't understand everything that was going on, but she did understand when someone was hurting Mia. She knew Mia was the pink Ranger and she hated when anyone did anything to hurt Mia.

So when the man lunged for Mia, she broke away from Kevin, pushed her little body through the crowd (which wasn't hard given how small she was) and then jumped in between the man and Mia, taking the second punch to the head. She dropped, the crowd gasped. She screamed loudly, crying out in nothing but pain.

Mia sat up, shoved the man away and took Riley in her arms to soothe her. The man got up and backed away as he looked down at his hands in shame.

"Riley," Mia whispered so the city wouldn't hear she knew Riley's name, "Are you okay?"

Riley screamed and clung to Mia tightly. It was very obvious to everyone, even those who were towards the outer edge of the crowd that she was hurt. Kevin pushed his way through and got down on his knees beside Mia and Riley.

Someone else pushed her way through the crowd, bursting out as quickly as she could. When Kevin noticed someone was coming towards him and his family he looked up to get a look at her face.

"Ms. Clarkson?"

"Riley, are you okay?" Sabrina dropped to her knees to have a look at the little girl for herself. By now Riley had buried herself in Mia's chest, screaming and thrashing around painfully. She wouldn't let anyone look at her or touch her unless they were Mia. She trusted no one as much as she trusted Mia.

So the pink Ranger took Riley in her arms and turned to her teammates, "You guys finish up here. I don't care what you do or how you do it. Sick Green on everyone. I've got to go."

Mia rushed off with Riley in her arms, and Kevin took off behind her. While a path cleared for the pink Ranger, Kevin had to shove and plough his way through people. He didn't care who he pushed around as long as he got out of the crowd.

Sabrina started to follow as well. Riley's safety was her number one concern, and this incident was definitely one she needed to investigate. She had seen what had happened, and she knew it hadn't been Riley's possible adoptive parents who had caused her any harm, but she had still gotten hurt. As far as Sabrina knew, Riley was always getting hurt.

In the middle of the crowd, the Samurai looked to each other. They weren't sure what this meant for them – if they were finally going to get their freedom back or if the city would turn on them again because Riley had been hurt in their presence.

Someone from the crowd did ask about them, and about Riley, "Are you just going to stand there?" she pointed to the man who had accidentally punched Riley, "He hit a kid! You're supposed to be superheroes. You can't let him…"

"It was an accident," Jayden shook his head and looked to the man, who continued to stare at his hands and ignored everything around him. Given how upset he seemed, Jayden could tell he was a good person, but the stress of the city and the war had gotten to him. It had gotten to everyone and unfortunately the only people left to blame were the Samurai, "I think it's clear we've lost a lot in the war. My team and I understand the mess we've left behind after every single battle. It's never been pretty; not for us, and certainly not for you. We've done our best to ensure a brighter future. I can promise you, those monsters, or Nighlok as we call them, are never returning. Panorama City is safe once and for all. You don't need the Samurai Rangers anymore. Now is a time for recovery. We need to grieve, but more importantly, we need to move on. We are deeply sorry for any pain this war has caused to you, your families, and our own."

"Sorry, you're…"

"No more questions or comments," Jayden said and started to lead his team away from the crowd. There were a few murmurs of discontent, as not everyone could be convinced that the Rangers should be allowed to get off lightly, but louder, stronger voices silenced them.

The Rangers met up with Antonio, Emily, James and Terran in a tiny café owned by one of Ji's friends. He had called them over, calling the morphed Rangers by their names so they knew he was safe, and let them hide out inside until the crowds dispersed and everyone went back to their own business. Lauren, as soon as she powered down, was on her phone trying to get in touch with Mia and Kevin. The rest of the Samurai didn't look very happy. They got some drinks for the table from the owner and waited in silence.

"We're never going home, are we?" Emily muttered just as the door to the café opened. Shane, Dustin, Tori, and Cam walked in. They spotted the Samurai easily, as they were the only other people in the café, and took a seat with them at the table.

"So, that went well."

"Sarcasm is not appreciated, Dustin," Antonio rolled his eyes.

Shane shook his head, "That's not sarcasm. We got in touch with the ninjas at on the police force and the ones working in the city. They're working with Ji's friends to get him and Kate out jail. If that happens, it's because the hunt is over, and you're all free to go back to your regular lives."

"Wait, really?"

"What Jayden said must have been what convinced most of the city," Cam nodded, "That, and the sob stories of what you guys have been through to protect everyone."

"And a few kind words from the ninjas didn't hurt," Tori smirked. "You probably didn't see them, but we had a few of a students in the crowd."

"A few?" Dustin asked, "Dude, we shipped the entire Academy down here in a bus! That was not a comfortable ride."

"I told you to be friendly," Tori shrugged her shoulders. Dustin rolled his eyes and then waved over the owner of the café.

"I'm starving!"

"Sandwiches, coming up," the owner smirked. Dustin grinned from ear to ear before he was suddenly knocked out of his chair and to the floor by a very powerful hug. He looked down, saw a mass of blonde hair and chuckled.

"Ow, Emily."

"You really convinced the city we're good guys?"

"I think so," Dustin nodded his head and sat up, "You're a strong and painful hugger."

"You can paralyze my sister anytime!" Emily cried. She gave Dustin a kiss on the cheek, then with help from the table, Dustin, and Mike, she stood up, grabbed her crutches and raced as quickly as she could to the door, ready to get her aunt and Ji out of the jail cell they were being held in. Jayden was right behind her.

Lauren, who had gotten through to Kevin moments before the Ninjas came in with good news, suddenly hung up her phone, scooted out of her place at the table and raced out. Where Jayden and Emily turned left after leaving the café, Lauren went right, in the direction of the hospital. She ran the entire way and burst through the doors into the waiting room, where she saw Kevin and who she assumed was the social worker in a very heated argument. She pulled the two apart and looked to Clarkson, "What's going on?"

"She's going to take Riley away!" Kevin shouted and pointed his finger at Sabrina.

"I'm not doing this because you're a bad person," Sabrina sighed while shaking her head, "Some people, as kind and caring as they are, just aren't the people we look for when we try to find a child a permanent home. Riley's been hurt too many times for me to feel comfortable leaving her in your care, and this time it's serious! You took your eye off her…"

"For a moment! She slipped out of my hand and…"

"You brought her to an angry mob of people! You're asking for trouble. You were also the one who pushed her down the stairs…"

"I would never hurt her!" Kevin shouted, "I never wanted to hurt her! She's a kid, she finds trouble…"

"She almost got shot! You've missed a few meetings with me, you and your wife disappeared with Riley without informing me or Social Services and you won't tell me where you've been or why you ran. This is not a safe, stable, and healthy environment for such a young child. I'm really sorry, but…"

"Kevin's amazing," Lauren interrupted. She gently pushed Kevin into a seat and held her hand out to Sabrina, "I'm Lauren Shiba."

"You had two stars by your name," Sabrina said. "And who exactly are you to the family?"

"A friend. A friend who knows exactly what Riley's been through and how tough it is on a kid."

"I know that too," Sabrina answered, "It's my job to…"

"My parents died when I was young, and I was moved from home to home: foster homes, I guess. I was moved around so much I never felt like I had anyone who liked me, never mind loved me. I felt so deprived and so lonely until recently. I found my brother and his friends, Mia and Kevin included, and they took me in. They gave me a home and a family and it's been crazy, I'm sure you know that, but even in the hardest times, it's been great. I wish I had been as lucky as Riley when I was a little girl. I wish someone had saved me back then. You can't take her away. You can't hurt her like that. Not after everything she's been through."

"After what I've seen…"

"You haven't seen anything. I've spent time with Riley, I've gotten to know her. If you take her away from Kevin and Mia, you're going to ruin her."

"Kids are resilient. We'll find her a _safe_ home with responsible…"

"When?" Lauren asked. "You know how many kids need homes, and with all this chaos in the city, I'll bet there aren't many people looking to adopt. It could be years before people are ready to take kids into their homes. It could take even longer for someone to fall in love with Riley. You know it's a hard process. You know it hurts a kid to know there is no one who loves them."

"She will be well looked after by the city…"

"It's not the same!" Lauren cried and by now there were tears pouring down her face. She was fighting as hard as she could for Riley and couldn't imagine the little girl having to live the life she had lived. Though it would be without the training and the weight of the world on her shoulders it would be full of uncertainty.

Sabrina's face softened. She liked to think she was good at reading people, and was a good judge of character. It was, after all, her job to judge the character of people and to be right. She knew very little about Lauren, but she could tell that whoever she was, she did care deeply for Riley.

She pointed to Kevin, "Do you really trust this man with a four year old, broken girl? Do you really think this man and his fiancée are the best thing for a scared, little girl?"

"She's not broken or scared when she's with them," Lauren nodded, "I trust them. I trust them together and individually. They're going to make Riley very, very happy. That's what we all want, right?"

Sabrina gave Lauren a little smile and then turned to Kevin, "I don't usually do this, but… congratulations, it's a girl."

Kevin's jaw hit the floor and he couldn't move from his seat. Sabrina gave him a light pat on the shoulder, shook Lauren's hand, and then pulled out her cell phone, promising she would get the paperwork done quickly so it was all official. She left the hospital, but not before making Lauren and Kevin promise to keep her up to date on Riley's condition.

When she was gone, Lauren turned around and smiled at Kevin. He finally jumped out of his seat, took Lauren in his arms, hugged her tight and spun her around.

"I could kiss you right now!" he told her when he set her down and he squeezed her tight, "You are, officially, the most amazing person in the whole wide world. Whatever you want, it's yours. Just name it! Anything! I'd buy you your own planet if you asked for it."

"Take care of her," Lauren said and tried to pull away from Kevin. He nodded his head but couldn't contain his excitement. He gave Lauren a kiss on the cheek and then started dancing around. He hadn't been thrilled at the thought of adopting Riley when it first came up, even though he had been the one to suggest it to Mia. He hadn't even really liked bringing a child into his home temporarily when he thought her parents were still alive and looking for her. But overtime he started to fall in love with the idea of having not just a daughter, but Riley as his daughter. She had been challenging, especially for him, and they had had a very trying relationship, but there was nothing on this world that would have made him give her up. More than anything, he wanted to be her father. He wanted to know that someone who loved and cared for her as much as he did was taking care of her, and no one could possibly love her as much as him and Mia.

Lauren watched him dance around the waiting room and groaned, apologizing to the people he had disturbed not only with his fight with Sabrina, but now with his bright, happy, and very energetic cheer.

"You're going to be one of those very protective, very embarrassing dads like on those sitcoms Emily watches, aren't you?"

"I'm a dad!" Kevin grabbed Lauren's arms, inviting her to dance with him. She shook him off.

"Kevin, stop it! You look like an idiot," Lauren hid her red face and turned to the woman looking up at her. "Would you believe me if I told you I've never met this man before in my life?"


	39. Getting Back To Their New Lives

Jayden and Emily were at the jail within minutes after leaving the café, and arrived in time to see Ji and Kate were being let go. They were a little rough around the edge, considering they had spent a few days in jail and being roughly interrogated, but they looked happy to finally be released. Jayden pulled Ji into a strong hug and then started asking him a series of questions about the bruises on his face as well as the pain and stiffness that was obvious when Ji moved.

"I will be fine," Ji promised and hugged Jayden again, "All that matters is that you are well."

"Same goes for you," Kate said as she broke away from her hug with Emily to look at her niece. "You didn't have too rough a time getting away, did you? Did you find somewhere safe to hide? How did you convince the city to let us go so quickly?"

"I thought it would be another couple of weeks, at least," Ji added as he looked to Jayden curiously. Jayden turned to Emily for a moment. They smirked to each other before Jayden shrugged his shoulder.

"We've got a few friends. Contacts, if you will."

"Well, whatever gets us out of this hellhole," Kate said and started walking to the door, "I can't wait to sleep in a real bed."

"Um… Kate?" Emily called, "You've got a ring of bread around your finger. Are you saving it for later? Didn't they feed you enough? Don't they know you have rights?"

Kate took the bread off her finger, at it and looked to Ji apologetically for a moment before turning back to Emily, "We just managed to convince an entire city to forget about the Samurai and move on with their lives. Let's not tempt fate with our rights. The past is the past."

"I agree," Ji nodded. He walked ahead with Kate and took her hand, "I, for one, am excited for a shower. A nice, warm, refreshing shower to get the feeling of jail off my skin."

"Sounds nice," Kate smirked.

Jayden and Emily looked to each other. Emily stuck out their tongues.

"It's romantic when Mike and I do it, but it's creepy when they do it."

"Agreed. Let's just make sure they get home safely and then pretend this never happened?"

"What happened?"

"I don't know," Jayden played along and smiled, "You okay to walk all the way back to the house?"

"I'll have arms of steel, unless…"

Jayden groaned as he lowered himself, allowing Emily to jump on his back so he could carry her home.

"Lay off the cookies, Em," Jayden muttered and then was slapped on the back of the head.

"Hey! Don't call me fat! My feelings may be little, but they can still get hurt."

-Samurai-

Over at the hospital, things weren't making a turn around like they were just outside Riley's room. Head injuries were always very unpredictable, and though Riley had appeared fine for the first little while after being punched in the head, it all started to go south very quickly once she got to the hospital. Riley did have a very strong head, anyone could say that, but there was only so much it could take. In a very short time frame, she had survived a war and survived living on her own for several weeks, she had fallen down the stairs twice, she had been kidnapped (and Mia was sure the man who had tried to take her away hadn't been gentle with her), and she had been at the scene of an armed robbery. Mia couldn't count the number of times Riley's head had taken a hit, even a minor one, and she couldn't even begin to guess how many times Riley had been hurt before she had been put in Mia's care. Kids had a knack for getting themselves into trouble, and Riley was no exception. If anything, she had made a career out of getting herself in trouble.

Doctors and nurses had spoken to Mia about Riley, but she hadn't been listening. She couldn't listen. She was far too worried about Riley to pay any attention, and it wasn't like there was anything she could do to help at this point except stay with Riley. The doctors had gotten a look at her head and Mia could have sworn they had said something about recovery but she wasn't sure. She had heard them mention keeping Riley at the hospital for observation, and monitoring her closely in case her injury got even worse.

What was really painful was looking at Riley, though. She wasn't awake, but probably still in pain. She had screamed all the way to the hospital where she had passed out, pausing only a couple of times to vomit. She hadn't been able to tell anyone where exactly she was hurting, or how much it hurt (though a lot was a good guess).

Her little body lay still in the bed. The bed wasn't very big itself, but it dwarfed Riley in Mia's eyes. All Mia could do was stare down at her daughter and hope for the best.

She had been punched as well in the head by the man who hurt Riley, but she had been wearing a helmet. Still, she had a bit of a headache, which proved how hard he could punch, and how much he could hurt Riley.

Mia would admit to wanting to see him dead. He was a lucky man. She had been too worried about taking care of Riley to even think of getting back at him for hurting her.

Between the blacked out memories of all the talks she had had, she could just barely remembered one with Kevin. While the doctors had been taking care of Riley, ensuring she got the best treatment possible, Mia had gone to see Kevin in the waiting room and found him dancing with a reluctant Lauren. He told her he was happy because they were approved for adopting Riley, and that the little girl was, without a doubt, going to be their daughter. All they needed to do was sign a few papers, answer a few more questions, and tie up some loose ends. Mia was happy to hear that, but still very distressed by what was going on with Riley. She shared her concerns with Kevin, ranting on and on about how unpredictable head injuries could be and how scared she was that something really bad was going to happen to Riley.

He took her in his arms and she cried for… she wasn't sure how long, but it was possibly a long time. Then she could remember a doctor finding her and she rushed to Riley's room. She didn't know what the doctor said. The whole thing was a blur. Kevin would know more than she did.

She took her daughter's hand and squeezed it very gently. Riley was so fragile: so small, so young, so innocent.

"I'm going to take care of you," Mia promised with a whisper as she gently stroked the back of Riley's hand with her thumb, "No matter what happens, I'm always going to take care of you. Just please, Riles, wake up."

A light tap on the door barely caught Mia's attention. She turned around and saw it was Lauren coming in with a pink teddy bear. Everyone knew pink was Riley's favourite colour. It had been even before she had met Mia and knew about the pink Ranger. Riley had been a huge fan of the pink Ranger before she had been rescued by her.

"The gift shop downstairs was full of stuffed bears," Lauren shrugged, "I thought maybe it was because that's what you get people when they're in the hospital. Can't go wrong with pink, though, right?"

"It's a girl?" Mia asked after reading the shirt on the bear.

"It's not inappropriate. Congratulations. You're going to be an amazing mother."

"Do you think she'll be okay? She's just a kid, her brain's still developing. Her head is still…"

"She's a tough kid," Lauren promised, "She'll have to be to put up with this family. Kevin can't dance. Even I know that. Everyone in the waiting room knows that. Some grumps even pointed it out."

"I'm just… I'm so scared," Mia put her feet up on the chair and hugged her knees, "I got my tonsils out when I was little. Dad refused to leave my bedside the entire time I stayed in the hospital and even days after I was sent home. Every five minutes he asked if I was okay, how I felt, if I needed anything. It drove me crazy. But I get it. I don't want anything bad to happen to her. Never. This is such a horrible feeling."

"I can't imagine," Lauren placed the bear beside Riley on the bed and turned to Mia with a smile, "Is it sad I'm extremely jealous?"

"I need to punch someone. Turn your head; I can knock you senseless too."

"Not of that. I tripped and scraped my knee once. Given how intense my training was, it was nothing too painful, but my mentor and my guardians at the time all flocked around me as soon as it happened, and they did the same thing as your dad and as you. They stuck by me, tried to take care of me, and tried to make it better… only they never did it because they love me. Anytime something bad happened to me, they treated it like the end of the world. The older I got, the worse they got because they knew if I died, Jayden would never have the time to master the Sealing Symbol and neither of us had children yet so that would be the end for… everyone."

"I know it was traumatic, Lauren. And I feel for you, I really do, but enough with the no-one-loved-me, no-one-really-cared-about-me stuff. We get it. Your childhood sucked. But you have a family now. If something happens to me and Kevin, I'm letting you have my daughter…"

"I know," Lauren nodded her head and reached out, touching Mia's arm, "I know I have a family now. It's why I was so excited on New Year's. I have people in my life who love me and care about me, and not just because I had the Sealing Symbol."

"That did help a little," Mia shrugged.

"The thing that makes me jealous, in a good way, is that I finally have that again and I'm twenty-six. Twenty-freaking-six. Riley's four and she's already found two families that love her: her old one and her new one. Lucky little brat."

Mia chuckled, "She's spoiled. And she'll be even more spoiled when she wakes up. C'mon, little pink, you're okay. You're going to be okay."

"She's going to be okay," Lauren put a hand on Mia's shoulder and gave her a comforting squeeze. "I'm going to try and find a place to eat. Do you want me to bring you anything?"

"No, actually, can you stay here? I really, really have to pee and if she wakes up I don't want her to be alone."

"Bring back some food," Lauren said, "I'm hungry!"

-Samurai-

Serena shook hands with the Ninjas as they stood at the bus stop. The city was calming down; people were working on grieving for their loved ones instead of getting revenge. It was safe for the Samurai to come home, and thought they hadn't convinced people their theories regarding the identities of the Rangers were false, the city didn't seem to care. Enough people were convinced they knew all they needed to know about the Samurai: they were humans, they had dreams and goals, they had families, and they had made huge sacrifices and suffered tremendous loss. They had been through enough. They had suffered enough.

So the Ninjas' work was done and it was time to say goodbye.

"We owe you big time," Serena said, taking the lead while Jayden was off with Emily getting Ji and Kate out of jail and Kevin was at the hospital with Lauren and Mia. "If you need anything…"

"We were repaying a debt," Dustin assured her, "It was the least we could do after what happened last time we saw each other."

"I told you, all's forgiven, even if there's nothing to forgive."

"You're wrong, but we'll take it," Tori gave Serena a hug, "Stay out of trouble. Don't make us rescue you again."

"And prove why Ninjas are better than Samurai," Shane smirked teasingly. Serena turned to him.

"What?"

"What?" he shrugged his shoulders playfully, "Nothing. Just, you know, making a true comment. It's not important."

"Yahuh," Antonio crossed his arms over his chest, "Ninja-Samurai duel. Name a time and place."

"Okay, I think it's time we go," Cam grabbed Shane by the arm and started to pull him away, "We'll keep in touch. Let us know how Riley's doing. Poor kid's going to have a pretty nasty headache for a while."

A bus pulled up to the curb and opened its doors. The Ninjas said goodbye one more time before the four got on and were then followed by the rest of the Academy. As many as possible were trying to fit through the doors, hoping they could catch the first of many buses that would be taking them back to Blue Bay Harbour.

"That's a lot of students," Antonio pointed out as he walked away with Serena, Mike, and James, "And to think, I didn't recognize a single one of them in the crowd."

"They're ninjas," James rolled his eyes, "It's their job to blend in."

-Samurai-

Jayden and Emily were cleaning up the mess left behind at the Shiba House. Ji and Kate had put up a bit of a fight before letting the police arrest them, which had resulted in them leaving behind a bit of a mess, but it was nothing two people couldn't handle. Because the Shiba House had been under investigation, everything had been how the Samurai had left it – aside from the mess of the struggle. No one wanted to move anything because it was all evidence.

"Jay, there's a bonsai there that looks like it can use a little watering," Emily said from the couch, "You know how Ji hates it when he loses a bonsai."

"You know, you're the number one cause of bonsai death between 2011 and 2013," Jayden pointed out as she got cup of water from the kitchen and poured some into the pot for the little tree. "If I were you, I wouldn't be preaching to me about how to care for Ji's plants."

"What about all the bonsai deaths between 1989 and 2011?" Emily asked with a playful smirk, "I may have knocked a few over, but I'm pretty sure I've heard a few stories about you torching thousands."

"A few? Thousands? Okay, I may have accidentally set fires to… some tiny trees, but if you look at the concentration of…"

"Lalala, tree killer, lalala!"

"Shut up!" Jayden tossed a pillow at Emily's head. She caught the pillow just before it smacked her in the face and then stuck out her tongue.

After that she turned to the hallway. Ji and Kate had finished their shower and were now resting in a real bed, and Emily had questions.

"Jay, don't you think your finger is a weird place to hold your food?"

"No," Jayden shook his head, "I mean, you can try holding it with your toes, but it doesn't work as well. You've seen Mike and Antonio try."

"We picked good ones," Emily rolled her eyes. "I mean… the way she was holding it. It looked like… well…"

"Like?"

"You know."

"I don't."

"Yeah, it looked like… it."

"It?"

"You know what I'm talking about."

"No, I really don't!"

"It looked like a ring," Emily said, "It was on her left hand, it looked like a ring. Do you think… you know, something happened in that jail cell?"

"Wouldn't that be awkward with the bars between them? They were in different cells and I don't think…"

"EW! Not that! Jayden!"

"What?"

"An engagement ring!" Emily launched the pillow at Jayden's head, "Ew, now I have _that_ image stuck in my head."

"Oh… whoops. Wait, an engagement ring? You don't think…?"

"Strange things happen in prison, Jay. It messes with your head."

"You've never been in prison, before, Em."

"I've been _im_prisoned," Emily smirked. "So, what do you think?"

"We should have left you there?"

"About the engagement! You're mean!"

"I'm kidding, Em. I think… it's pretty cool. Kate's a nice person and Ji seems to really like her. I know I didn't at first but… there's just one thing."

"What?"

"Her nieces would be my cousins, right? If Ji and Kate really did get engaged and do get married."

"Yeah," Emily smiled brightly. Jayden hissed and shook his head uncertainly.

"Well, here's the problem… She's got one niece, about this high, bubbly, loves cookies, and really, really clumsy. She's kind of a pain in the butt."

"HEY! You're really mean!"

"You didn't do any cleaning!"

"I cleaned the couch."

Jayden tossed the pillow back at Emily, who deflected it with her arm and accidentally knocked over a bonsai.

"That's your fault!" the two pointed their fingers at the other.


	40. The Birthday

Riley's condition was very up and down. Mia could attest as to how aggressively the man had punched, still feeling the effects herself (and she had been wearing a helmet!). In the span of a several days, Riley had woken up a few times. Of some of those times, she had been a little more aware and active. Others, she had done nothing but whine about how her head hurt. The hospital had kept her in their care for a few days before releasing her back to Mia and Kevin with a long list of instructions for caring for her. Riley was to spend most of her time in bed, or if she was out of bed it was for a quiet, somewhat mindless activity that would let her rest.

Fortunately, Riley's head was tougher than it looked. It was about as hard as she was stubborn, so the trauma to her head had been classified as moderate. A strong moderate, but not enough to be severe. With enough rest, and a long enough recovery period, Riley would be able to go back to her active, normal life.

Riley being at home and awake was just in time, too. Terran's first birthday had finally come, and all the Samurai were very excited. As though he knew today was his special day, Terran started it by sleeping in, giving his parents and his aunts and uncles time to get the house decorated. Mia and Kevin wanted to be a part of the celebration, but they couldn't leave Riley home alone so they insisted the birthday be celebrated at their house. Riley could join when and if she was feeling up to it. There would be cake, so it was likely she would turn up at some point.

A stack of presents sat on the coffee table in the common room. Terran was being spoiled rotten by his entire family – even those who couldn't be present. James' parents, as well as his siblings and nieces and nephews were out of town and couldn't come down even for the day – no matter how hard they tried. James' parents, who had met Terran before and had fallen in love with their newest grandson had called the day before, the morning of, and later the morning off, hoping to catch Terran so they could wish him a happy birthday over the phone. They had also sent many, many presents and Serena excitedly shook them all to try and see what they were. One box started singing when she shook it, which had scared her and made the others laugh. Serena already didn't like that one toy – whatever it was.

Serena's parents had also tried to come down for the day, but an incident on the farm made it impossible for them to leave. Like James' parents, they had called for Terran over the phone several times to wish him a happy first birthday and promised to visit him soon with their mountain of presents for him. Serena was sure they had James' parents beat, as he was their first grandchild and the first did tend to get spoiled rotten on such milestones.

But the rest of the family was in attendance.

"Does he even know it's his birthday?" Lauren asked as she watched her friends and brother hang up banners and streamers and a game that made no sense to her, but everyone was excited for. She couldn't remember the name, but there were tails laying on the kitchen table and a donkey showing its butt on a poster.

"Probably not," James shook his head and made sure the banners were level, "but we all do and it's his first. It's exciting and fun and…"

"He's a year old," Serena was sitting at the kitchen table and writing in a large card the Samurai had bought for Terran's birthday. The others had to share the right page on the inside of the card, while Serena had taken up all the space on the left, insisting that though it was huge, she would fill it up and possibly use the back. She had a lot to say to her now one year old son. "One year ago…"

"Yeah, please don't go into details about what happened a year ago," Mike rolled his eyes and sighed before he turned to Lauren, "Let's just say, Terran's birth caught us off guard. All I remember is a crushed had, a lot of screaming, being called a heartless jackass, more screaming, blood, screaming, blood, screaming, blood, more mean names, blood, and then Terran started crying."

The colour drained for Lauren's face. She nodded her head slowly.

"Yeah, I've never been happier to be a lesbian."

"I think I'm finally happy I can't have kids," Mia winced as she walked into the kitchen to get started on a cake for Terran. When the Samurai Rangers had first met Mia, asking her to cook anything that required more skills than putting two slices of bread in a toaster had been asking for death to come early. When Mia learned her cooking was… subpar, she started to take lessons from Kevin and had vastly improved. Now, she was one of the better cooks in the Samurai family, and she still had her passion for it, so she had been thrilled when Serena and James asked her to cook their son's very first birthday cake.

"Okay!" Emily darted into the kitchen on her crutches and with a big smile on her face. While the house was being set up, Emily had been keeping her eyes on Terran. He had woken up about half an hour earlier and it was up to Emily ot get him ready for his big day and keep him distracted for long enough while the others set up the house. She figured they had enough time and couldn't hold in her excitement any longer. She and Mike (with some help from Ji) had gotten Terran one of the best birthday presents ever (if Emily could say so herself). "I'm not going to brag, but I'm amazing."

"Where is the not bragging part?" James teased. Emily stuck her tongue out.

"Serena, one year ago you made the cutest baby I've ever seen. I've just made him a million times cuter. This is why I am the favourite auntie. Terran! Come see mommy!"

Always happy, Terran finally made it down the stairs, and ran into the kitchen to show off his new Samurai training uniform. It was a smaller men's version of Emily's, with just a little hint of white on some of the trimming. Terran made his way over to his mother and gave her one of his usual morning hugs.

"And," Emily continued, "Terran getting his first training uniform isn't bittersweet because he'll never _have_ to be a Samurai! See how awesome I am? I should get a medal."

"Where's the not bragging part?" James teased again before he turned to Serena who was cuddling with her little Samurai, "Alright, Em, you did good. He is adorable."

Emily smiled. She leaned forward on her crutches and invited James to come closer. He did and she whispered in his ear, "Also, it didn't take him half an hour to get dressed, so I taught him something."

"If he says poopie I'm going to…"

"Terran," Emily threw her arms around James while trying to get her nephew's attention, "Look who I'm hugging!"

"DADA!" Terran shouted, slipped off his mother's lap, and he ran to James. He pushed Emily out of the way and clung to his father's legs while giving her a mean look. He loved his Auntie Memy, but no one took his dada away from him.

James picked up his son and held him high in the air, "Finally, you little monster!"

While the parents celebrated Terran's birthday and his new word, Emily made her way over to the counter and smiled proudly at Mia and Lauren.

"Top that."

"You have to get him an amazing gift," Mia rolled her eyes, "You're the only person, aside from Serena, who actually shares DNA with the kid."

"Okay, well Mike helped me come up with this gift, and I had to ask Ji to make it… so top their gifts!" Emily stuck out her tongue.

-Samurai-

To Terran, the entire day was magical. He was eating sweets and treats that he couldn't get enough of, everyone was playing with him, and they were playing any game he wanted to play, and his parents who didn't usually like it when he started tearing into things were encouraging him to rip paper from boxes and scream as the boxes opened up.

On top of that, he was getting a lot of news toys to play with. With nothing but excitement and veins full of sugar he was running around the house trying to get his hands on anything that looked new, colourful, and shiny.

Though Mia loved to see her nephew so happy, all the excitement was bringing her headache back. So while everyone explained the rules of pin the tail on the donkey to Lauren, she stepped outside to get some fresh air and some peace and quiet. As she was relaxing on the porch swing, she saw the mailbox was full. With almost as much excitement as Terran on his birthday, she jumped up and raced down the driveway to see what was inside the mailbox.

Her last several days had been up and down, like Riley's headaches. While taking care of her daughter, she also had to take care of issues that would make Riley her daughter. Sabrina Clarkson had given Mia and Kevin the okay to be Riley's adoptive parents, but there had been a few loose ends to tie up before it was official. Whenever they could, Kevin and Riley met up with social services for meetings and filled out paperwork. It hadn't been easier explaining where they had gone with Riley when they suddenly disappeared, as well as why they had suddenly disappeared, but they had managed it somehow. The city promised to send them forms in the mail once the process was complete just to show Mia and Kevin that everything had worked out for them and Riley was officially their little girl.

Having just celebrated Christmas, there were a few bills, but Mia saw what she was looking for, dropped the rest of her mail in the snow and tore open the envelope. She read it quickly and then couldn't stop herself from smiling. She hadn't gotten a daughter the way she had always intended, and it was a little early for her dreams, but it was still perfect and exciting. Her headache now gone, she raced inside the house, found Kevin in the kitchen, and jumped into his arms just before his turn in the game. She pulled him into a passionate kiss which made the others look away.

Antonio covered Terran's eyes, "Uh, guys, I didn't think today was about that kind of excitement. There is a one year old in the room."

Mia waved Antonio off and shoved the mail into his chest. She let go of Kevin and started to drag him upstairs so they could announce the news to Riley. If she was going to hear it, it was going to be from her parents first.

Antonio's face lit up with happiness for the new parents, "It looks like we've got two birthdays to celebrate today."

"Two?" James asked.

"The adoption is complete," Antonio showed the papers to the family, "We have a new niece."

"Already?" Mike asked, snatching the papers to get a look for himself.

"There are hundreds of orphaned kids in this city alone," Emily reminded him, "Mia and Kevin are good people, so they probably don't want to waste their time with them anymore."

Lauren smirked teasingly at Emily, "Who's going to be the best aunt now?"

"What do you…?"

Lauren opened up one of the kitchen cabinets and pulled out a present wrapped in pink paper, "It took me a while to find one. We haven't been completely forgiven. Riley's last pink Ranger custom was covered in your blood..."

"I took a bullet for her."

"I got her a new one," Lauren said. Emily gave her the evil eye, which prompted Lauren to start running upstairs to give her niece the present. Emily went after her, but crutches and stairs weren't the best of friends. Emily stared up and huffed.

"Cheater! This is going to take a while."

Kate rolled her eyes and looked to Ji, "And they're behaving like this before we tell them," she whispered to her fiancé. He wrapped his arm around her and smiled.

"This family can't get any weirder," he assured her. Just then, the Samurai heard something tumbling down the stairs. Fearing it was Emily, everyone got up and rushed to the hallway. At the bottom of the stairs lay Emily's crutches, while she walked up on her hands and foot, bouncing from one step to the other. Kate shot Ji a look.

"You were saying?"

"She's _your _family."


	41. First Day Back

The Ranger had had a blast at Terran's party and when they had gone back to their homes and beds they had all crashed. Terran was only a year old and still very small, but he was a lot of energy and a lot of excitement condensed into a tiny package. He had kept everyone on their toes.

The following day, everything went back to normal – or for some the normal routine was only getting started. Kevin was up early preparing a nice breakfast for his two girls to celebrate their first official day as a family.

He had never really considered adoption. Being of the Samurai families, it was important he did have a child to pass on his responsibilities, and though adoption did work in drastic cases (like a Samurai was unable to produce a biological child), the results were never as strong, and it took a couple of generations before the Symbol Power could be built back up to normal strength. Not wanting that for his child or future teams, Kevin had planned on finding a woman he loved, having a child, and raising the child like his father had raised him.

When Mia told him the news that she couldn't get pregnant, life hadn't been easy. For starters, she hadn't told him right away, instead choosing to panic and run off. She broke off their engagement and tried to flee the State with her brother and step-mother. By the time she could tell Kevin about her fertility issue too much had happened. At the same time, while trying to avoid her family and her issue of infertility, Mia had run into Riley.

Riley had only been a scared little girl who had lost everything. Her brother had been babysitting her when Xandred appeared on Earth and brought the Netherworld with him. His rising had caused wide destruction through Panorama City and some of the surrounding cities as well, and that destruction had taken the life of Riley's parents, friends, and every family member. From the story Riley told, she had been playing outside in her backyard when Sanzu Water seeped through the fence. Her brother, in a costly heroic moment, rescued her from the flood and stole her away from the water before a burn could spread any further or do any worse than leave a mark on her leg. Realizing they had left their beloved cat Muffin outside, Peter, Riley's brother, returned into the dangerous waters once more to rescue her but never came back. From that very moment, Riley had been left on her own in a very dangerous world. Fortunately, and at the same time, unfortunately, Riley had survived the rest of the war. She had hid herself in her home, surviving with whatever provisions had been left behind.

When Mia ran away from her family, she needed a place to stay. She broke into a home where the door had been left unlocked. She was searching for a place to sleep and some food, but instead found a scared little pink Ranger. Her motherly instincts and her good nature refused to allow her to leave a poor, defenceless girl on her own, so she took Riley, leaving a note behind for parents who would never return, and cared for Riley even in troubled times. A bond grew between the two and Mia found herself wanting to care for Riley until her parents or another loved one could return for Riley.

Kevin's relationship with Riley hadn't started on the right foot. It hadn't really started on feet. Kevin had upset Mia when she tried to win him back, and that upset Riley. The little girl started to shout at Kevin, got in his face, and Kevin pushed her away. He hadn't intended on hurting her, but they had been on the stairs. Riley lost her footing, fell down and from that moment she hated Kevin.

Mia and Kevin did make up, and as such Kevin entered into Riley's life and she hadn't been happy about it. Mia's attempt to get the two to bond ended poorly when Kevin and Riley got into a heated disagreement. It all ended with Riley pushing Kevin at the top of the stairs, then tripping over his foot as she tried to get away from him. The result added another tumble to Riley's list and her hatred for Kevin grew.

Kevin did like the little girl, in spite of all the trouble she had and would give him. He worked hard to earn her trust and did.

Perhaps he did have some fatherly instincts inside of him. When Riley's future had been uncertain, Kevin had proposed the idea of adopting her to Mia. He understood the weight of the decision and had been ready to take it, but had assumed that someone would come and take Riley home, and he could continue on with his normal life. He could get married, go on an amazing honeymoon with his wife. He could get his career started, and once he and Mia were settled, they would consider adoption or another means of having a child.

Though it had been a tough road, Kevin never once regretted opening his mouth to Mia. He never once regretted making the decision to want to care for a little girl for the rest of his life. In fact, the more he had to live with the consequences of that decision, the more he fell in love with Riley, and the more he fell in love with the idea of being a father. It wasn't ideal, and it was fatherhood fast-forwarded because his new daughter was already four years old, but Kevin wouldn't trade this experience for anything.

Not even the Olympics. It felt like so long ago, but his dreams of swimming in the Olympics had passed – and it didn't feel like he had missed a thing. He had done amazing things, and had achieved almost impossible odds. He was one of the most talented Samurai in the world. He had faced insurmountable odds and overcame them. He saved the world with his team. He found an amazing family within that team, and he met the love of his life.

During the 2012 Summer Olympics, his family had given him a taste of the dream he had missed – which was all he ever wanted. They had staged their own Olympics and though it wasn't the real thing, it was close enough.

Now he had bigger, better dreams to live, and he was so happy. As he finished up with breakfast, Mia came down the stairs, looking somewhat exhausted.

"You were in Riley's room?" Kevin asked her as he presented her her breakfast, "I woke up this morning and you weren't there."

Mia nodded her head and went straight for the coffee, "Poor kid woke up from another nightmare, and then couldn't sleep again because he heard hurt too much. How long did the doctor say it would take her brain to heal?"

"Long enough," Kevin said. "Is she still asleep?"

"That would mean she fell back to sleep," Mia groaned. "She's upstairs. We had a little tea party with pink teddy Ranger; it's a girl teddy, and a dolly. I'm sure she would appreciate some real food, instead of that imaginary stuff."

Kevin nodded his head, gave Mia a kiss, and then put Riley's breakfast on a tray to bring it upstairs. Hopefully, for both his girls' sake, Riley would eat and then Kevin would find a way to get her to sleep before he had to leave for work.

-Samurai-

"GET UP!" Serena shouted and tossed a shoe at Mike, who was fallen asleep while tying his up. Now that they were back in their regular routine, they had no excuse to miss school. Ji's friends in the school board had come up with an excuse for their week late start, but the excuse wouldn't cover why they missed or were late for their first day.

The shoe only just missed Mike's head but caught his attention. He finished tying up his shoes, grabbed a jacket and raced out to the car. Serena rolled her eyes, called to James and Emily that she and Mike were leaving and the closed the door.

At the kitchen table, James and Emily looked to each other and started to laugh.

"Should we have told her they've about an hour early?"

Emily shook her head, "Nah, it'll be funnier if they find out on their own."

-Samurai-

Jayden was pulled from his sleep by a soft, gentle kiss. He smiled to himself as he opened his eyes and sat it was Antonio who had woken him up. He turned to the clock to check the time and figured Antonio was headed off to work.

"Catching or selling fish today?"

"Catching," Antonio said, "Hopefully they bite and I can do a few sales, but I might have to wait for tomorrow."

"Good luck," Jayden sat up bed in time to receive one more kiss from Antonio and then his fiancé was off to work. Jayden was a little jealous Antonio had something to do with his days, but if all went well with his plans with Lauren, soon he would have an Academy to run. Once he went into business, he would cherish mornings like theses where his agenda was empty.

Jayden took the most of it. He got up and dressed slowly and made his way to the kitchen. He made his usual breakfast while also trying to think of classes he would like to take. Technically, if he was going to start up his own business he would be his own boss, but a lot of work went into starting a career from scratch. Antonio would be the first to tell him that. A couple of classes and maybe a degree would be a big help when times got tough or confusing.

Fortunately, there was no rush. Jayden could take his time to make sure this was something he really wanted to take part in. Lauren was excited, there was no doubt about that, but Jayden didn't want to live her dream. He loved his sister and wanted to spent plenty of time with her to make up for the lifetime they had been apart, but he also wanted to have his own life and live out his own dreams.

He had just been about to open up his laptop and start his research when the phone rang. Seeing it was the number for the Shiba House he answered it, "Hello?"

"Do you have plans for dinner?"

Jayden chuckled. Ji hadn't even bothered mentioning it was him. Jayden and Ji had known each other for so long that they could recognize each other's voices in a heartbeat. Also, Ji was the only man in the Shiba House.

"Not really," Jayden shrugged his shoulders. "Depending on how much Antonio catches it might be fish, or take out."

"I was thinking the family could go out for dinner tonight," Ji suggested. "Serena's going back to work so she'll have plenty to talk about. You and I can discuss plans for your future, if you wish, and… Kate and I have some news."

"Really?" Jayden asked. He had his suspicions. When he and Emily had gone to pick Ji and Kate up from jail they had noticed the bread ring around Kate's finger and thought it rather odd. No one had said anything yet, so the suspicions weren't confirmed, but there was more and more evidence pointing to another wedding in the future. Unless the Samurai wanted to spend a year or two dressing up and stressing out over weddings, they were going to have to start doubling up.

"Kate's on the phone with Emily, and we talked to Serena last night. She's on board with it."

"And the others?"

"It's news we would like to share with… our close family first. What do you think? Will you come to dinner?"

"What will I tell Antonio?"

"You have plans with your father."

"Alright, sure," Jayden nodded his head, "I'll be there."

"Great!" Ji gave Jayden the details and finished the call by saying how happy he was Jayden had agreed to show up. Jayden then hung up the phone and opened his laptop. With dinner on his mind, and with his assumptions about Ji and Kate's big news, Jayden couldn't help himself. Marriage for him wasn't legal, so he was going to have to look out of State or out of country if he planned on tying the knot with Antonio.

-Samurai-

Mike shuttered as he walked through the doors of the school. He had always hated school, and even now that he was on the other side of the classroom it still left a bad taste in his mouth. This one particularly.

"You remember your way around?" Serena asked him. Mike nodded his head. "Alright. You're assistant coach, so guess you're needed at the gym. I'm going to pick up breakfast from the cafeteria."

"James and Emily could have said something," Mike muttered and started for the gym. Halfway to school, Serena and Mike caught a glance at the time and realized that they were early instead of late. Mike really wasn't happy about that, as it meant he could have slept in a little longer.

Serena made her way into the cafeteria. She was greeted by a few friendly faces, both on staff and from some students who had arrived early like herself. It seemed she had left the school on a good mark before the summer. She was sure there were some people on staff who still hated her guts – if she remembered correctly, principal Stevens had a very strong hatred for her – but she had changed the school for the better. Most knew that.

She got her breakfast and took a seat at a table. She let out a sigh when she noticed there was something missing. James was no longer working with her. She would still see him at home and for the rest of her life, but she missed having him at school. She missed how he always bought her breakfast when she was late in the mornings, how they always ate lunch together, and how he always had her back when she was standing up to students. Her job just wasn't the same without him.

"Serena?" an excited voice called from across the hallway before a racing blur almost knocked her from her stool. Serena accept the tackle that was supposed to be a hug, then pulled away to get a look at the person who possessed the voice that seemed to happy to see her.

"Mitch? Hey, buddy!"

"I didn't think you were coming back! I thought you were at some other school fixing their bullying problems or…"

Serena shook her head, "I love this place, why would I leave? You still a cheerleader?"

Mitch nodded excitedly, "Of course! I love it! I'm friends with everyone on the cheersquad: girls and boys."

"And…?" Serena was shocked to hear this. When she had first come to the school, the bullying had been horrendous. Students like Mitch were picked on by bigger, stronger students just because they were different and just because the bullies could. Teachers had no discipline and didn't care about the emotional state of their students. The principal never even really left his office or considered trying to straighten out his school. It had been a hellhole for everyone, even the bullies.

But Serena had turned it around. She hadn't done so by herself, but her presence had been the shift the school needed to make the change. That process did involve opening the kids' eyes to acceptance. Mitch had been a new student from Canada in the ninth grade class. He was a small, weak looking kid who had no friends. When Serena found him, she had gotten him to open up, and eventually he told her about his desire to cheer, as well as his fear. Boys weren't cheerleaders – it was a girl's sport.

He did join the team, and in spite of some teasing from the bullies he stuck with it. He made friends and even found himself a girlfriend.

However, by the end of the year, he had still been the only boy on the team. For Serena to hear there wasn't just one more boy, but boys really made her smile.

"The grade nine boys saw me on the team and tried out. We needed boys so they all got a spot. The ones who aren't very good are getting help to improve. Coach Hall's been really amazing. Then, when some of the older kids saw there were more guys on the team, and how strong us wimpy kids were getting, they tried to join. I think there was a dare involved, but everyone on the team loves cheerleading now."

Serena was really happy to hear that, and took another look at Mitch. He was still rather small, but he had built up some muscle since she had last seen him. Of course, the older he got, the more his body would build up, but the exercise from cheerleading seemed to be helping a lot.

"You are looking tough," Serena smiled, "I'm really proud of you, Mitch. That's great to hear."

"I wish I could stay," Mitch turned to the cafeteria door and waved to a group of boys that looked like they were waiting for him, "but I promised my friends I would help them with a science project. See you around, Serena."

"Yeah," Serena waved goodbye as Mitch raced off. Her spirits were lifted and she was happy, but she felt a little piece of her heart leave with Mitch. He was just a student, but when she first met him he had been so dependant and needed her protection constantly. Now, he would just be a face she would pass in the hallway and say hi to. He had grown. She was proud of him, but she would miss him.

Down in the gym, Mike had met up with Coach Jennifer Hall. He had been a little surprised to hear it was a woman coaching the boys' football team, but Coach Hall seemed tough enough. She had given him a shirt to wear so the student knew he was in charge (or assistant to the one in charge) and told him he could stay with her during her gym classes so he could get a feel of what his job would be like. Then, after school, he would watch as the football team practiced and if he could, he would offer a few pointers.

In other words, his day was quite easy. All he needed to do was sit back and keep an eye on what was happening. When the bell rang to start the class, Mike watched the students file in for gym class.

What he saw was not what he expected. In the group of students walking by, he saw a face he recognized. He saw a face he never wanted to see again. His muscles immediately tensed up as he glared at the face until it disappeared into the change room. His blood boiled. He could feel his anger rising. His job was no longer going to be easy. In fact, this was going to be the toughest challenge he had ever faced.

Suddenly, a hand fell on his shoulder. He jumped and had to resist flipping the unsuspecting student over his shoulder. Instead, he tensed up even more and turned around. He saw another familiar face.

"Mike? Right?" it was Howie, the school's former top bully. He had changed the previous year, Mike had heard, and had stopped picking on students who had done nothing to him, so Mike had no problem with him. And from the kind look in his eyes, it seemed he had changed even more and for the better since Mike had last seen him.

"Howie? But I thought you…?"

"Yeah, bullying kind of doesn't give you any credits," Howie shrugged his shoulders. "I'll be graduating this year, though. I've buckled down, focused on studying instead of tormenting and it's paying off!"

"That's great," Mike tried not to sound irritated, but he couldn't get the face out of his head. He tried to calm his breathing, but nothing was going to work.

"So, you're an assistant coach now?" Howie asked. He knew Mike from when Mike had pretended to be a new student who joined the football team.

"Yeah. Excuse me," Mike couldn't do it. He couldn't talk to Howie anymore – not unless the school would approve him getting very angry and taking out that rage on a student. He gave Howie a very gentle pat on the shoulder (because if he gave it any strength at all it would be a punch that would send the poor boy across the room) and walked over to Coach Hall. "I have to leave."

"What?" Jennifer gave Mike a disbelieving look, "Michael, most of the boys on the football team are in this class."

"What about that kid?" Mike saw the face he despised coming out of the change room and he started doing his laps. Jennifer shook her head.

"Franklin? No."

"I'm sorry," Mike shook his head, "I'll be back next period and for practice but… but I can't stay here."

"Why?"

"I just… HEY! WATCH WHERE YOU'RE GOING, PUNK!" Mike shouted to a student who accidently bumped shoulders with him. The student looked to him strangely and somewhat was somewhat scared as well as a little pissed off. Jen gestured for the boy to continue his laps and grabbed Mike by the arm.

"You _do not_ talk to students that way…"

"And that's why I have to leave," Mike pulled his arm free and rushed to the doors, "I'm sorry, Coach. If you knew, you would understand."

With that, Mike stormed out of the gym and ran down the hall. When he was far enough, he punched a locker, denting it.

"HEY!" someone scolded him from down the hall. He kicked the locker one more time before he turned around and saw Serena stomping towards him, "Mike, what the hell?"

"He's out! They let him come back!"

"What?"

Mike shook his head and then grabbed his hair in his hands and sunk to the floor. Serena knelt beside him and was shocked to see Mike was crying, "Mike? What happened?"


	42. Some Big Concerns

Serena paced back and forth in the hallway. She had calmed Mike down in time for second period and sent him back to class so Coach Hall wouldn't think he was completely incompetent on his first day, but now Serena was in full blown panic mode.

This school had presented her with a number of different challenges. Though some had been tough, none had been scarier than Frankie. Serena could give him a little bit of sympathy. As it turned out, he was a teenager who was seriously neglected by his father and his mother worked crazy shifts and barely had any time for him. To make matters work, Frankie had been one of the many students to be bullied, but more than that, even the other bullied kids bullied him via exclusion. He was the creepy kid, the one no one wanted to be friends with. He would summon up the courage and the strength to ask girls on dates or talk to someone else, and he would be rejected all the time.

One day, in spite of his many failures, Frankie had asked Serena if she could talk to Emily about going on a date with him. Serena declined not because she didn't like Frankie, but because Emily and Mike were already in love. Frankie wasn't one to take no for an answer – not this time – and pursued a relationship with Emily. He got in contact with her at the park, one incident led to another, and he wound up keeping Emily tied up in his closet for a few very terrifying days. Eventually, he did get caught, but not after leaving his mark on Emily, scaring the Samurai Rangers, and making a scene for the city. Last Serena had heard of him, he had been taken care of and wouldn't be a bother to her and Mike, and especially Emily again.

She had to wonder what had happened. It had only been about a year's time since he had been caught and taken away. She couldn't imagine why he would be free to return to society, especially unsupervised, or why this school would take him back, knowing the harm he had caused.

She saw Principal Stevens walking down the hallway with a newspaper tucked under his arm. She darted down the hall and cut him off before he could walk into the teacher's bathroom. She gave him an angry glare and he gave her sigh.

"I heard you were back. A week late, as usual, but you're back."

"Frankie."

"Excuse me?"

"You know who I'm talking about," Serena growled. "Frankie, the kid who kidnapped my sister and dated her against her will. Why is he here?"

"The city thought it would be best, and I have to agree. You've changed this school for the better. When it comes to acceptance, forgiveness, and tolerance, we're number one in the district."

"But my sister…"

"Does not attend this school," Stevens shook his head. "If she were, I would take precautions, but because she doesn't…"

"What about all the other girls here? Emily didn't do anything but be nice to Frankie. What if some other girl shows him that same kindness and he can't resist?"

"Frankie is back in this school after receiving a glowing report from counsellors and therapists. While in juvie he had exemplary behaviour… wouldn't you be the first to believe someone like that deserves a second chance? Now, if you don't mind," Stevens tapped the newspaper with his finger and looked to the bathroom door. Serena grumbled and reluctantly stepped aside to let him past.

"I hope the toilet overflows."

Down in the gym, Frankie's class had long ended, but Mike couldn't get the boy's face out of his mind. While the sophomore students were playing a game of basketball, he sat on the bench with his head in his hands. Jennifer came over to him and took a seat.

"This is my good class. We have some time to talk about what happened last period. What happened this morning cannot happen again. I treat my students with respect and compassion and I expect the same from you."

Mike muttered an inaudible response while shaking his head. Then he turned to Coach Hall, "Are you married?"

"Engaged. What does that…?"

"What if something were to happen to your fiancé?"

"I'd lose my mind," Coach Hall said.

"And what if someone kidnapped him?"

"If someone kidnapped her, I would find them and kick that person's ass myself."

"That's what do," Mike muttered to himself. He straightened out to rest his back against the wall behind him, "That happened with me last year. My now wife was kidnapped by that Frankie kid. I can't be in the same room as him without coming up with thousands of ways to murder him."

"I heard about that," Coach Hall said, "Emily, James' now sister in-law. Serena's little sister."

"My wife," Mike nodded his head. "Look, Coach, I want this job, and I want to do well. I'm not the easiest guy to work with, I'll tell you that right now, but I don't like disappointing people. But I don't think there's anything or anyone that can convince me to spent more than three seconds in a room with Frankie and not murder him. I don't care if he's changed, I don't care why he's back, I don't give a damn about him at all. I can't teach him."

"Then it's good we got this out of the way now," Coach Hall put her hand on Mike's shoulder, "What do you know about cheerleading?"

"I like the uniforms," Mike smirked. "That's about it."

"I've got a couple new guys on the squad who can use some extra help. They've got the strength to contribute to the team, but they don't have the style or grace just yet. They're also in that first period class."

"A couple of guys?"

"Is that also a problem?"

"No. The uniforms won't be as cute, though."

"Good thing you're married and that's not an issue for you, right?"

Mike chuckled and nodded his head, "Yeah. But I know nothing about cheerleading."

"Learn something. While I handle first period, you can take these guys aside. Focus on them. That will be a big help for me."

"I'll do my best," Mike promised with a nod of his head. "Thanks, Coach. It means a lot to me."

"If you ever have a problem with a student, you need to talk to me, Michael," Coach Hall got up from her seat and gave Mike a look that told him she was serious, "We're models. We need to watch the way we behave towards and around the students. If there's another problem, you talk to me. And no more cheerleader skirt comments. Those could get you in some really hot water."

"Promise," Mike nodded his head and smiled.

-Samurai-

It was getting close to dinner time and Jayden decided to head out a little early. With his assumptions in mind, he was excited and nervous about Ji and Kate's news and couldn't stay locked up inside the house.

Suddenly, someone wrapped their arms around his shoulder. Jayden saw the tensor bandage and smiled, "Lauren."

"How did you know?"

"Hand still hurt from punching the window?"

"Riley's going to be the death of all of us," Lauren said as she took a seat at the table. "Still, I am happy the adoption went through."

"Yeah, you really hit it off with her," Jayden smiled while having a look around. Lauren was living with Ji and Kate, a decision she made so she could get the feel of having a traditional family, even if it was an untraditional manner. Ji technically wasn't her father, and hadn't seen her since she was a kid, and Lauren and Kate had only met a couple of months ago. Jayden saw neither of them were around, "So, Ji and Kate…"

"Ji got a little nervous about something. Kate told me to go ahead so I could keep the table," Lauren pointed to the reservation sign. "She said they wouldn't be too long. Have you heard from Serena and Emily?"

"Nope, but they usually aren't late," Jayden looked to his watch, "We have some time to ourselves."

"Great," Lauren said and then there was a pause of silence. She wasn't sure what to say to her brother. Jayden was a little lost as well, but cleared his throat and rubbed the back of his neck.

"So, you live with them, right?"

"They live with me, technically," Lauren nodded her head, "but yeah."

"Any idea what this big news could be about?"

Lauren didn't look like she wanted to answer the question, but she figured if she couldn't talk to her brother about these issues, there was no one she could talk to. She leaned over the table and gestured for Jayden to do the same. When he was close enough she whispered, "I think it's got something to do with them… them."

"You… you do?"

"Last night, I heard some things. Normally I don't go down their hallway but… I did and… I'm not _that_ sheltered. I know what they were doing."

"Awkward," Jayden felt a shiver travel up and down his spine. The last thought he needed was of Ji and Kate in bed together. Even if his assumptions were right, that was a part of the engagement and relationship process Jayden would ignore forever.

"They've been cute and cuddly since we've been back," Lauren continued, "And not in the cute and cuddly way, you know. It's kind of awkward when we're watching a movie and…"

"You're the third wheel?"

"The what?"

"You feel like you shouldn't be there?"

"Yeah," Lauren nodded. "So, I think, the big news is some really, really big news."

"Engagement?" Jayden tried. Lauren shook her head.

"Bigger."

"Secret wedding?"

"Bigger."

"Baby?"

"Kate's been feeling a little up and down, lately. It could just be from being in jail but… I don't know," Lauren shrugged her shoulders. "And, look how many seats are at the table. It's just us. Antonio's got work, right?"

"He's at home eating a pizza pocket," Jayden shook his head. "Mike's got football practice, Kevin and Mia are…"

"Exactly," Lauren said. "I overheard Ji and Kate talking about tonight. They did consider inviting Antonio, James, and Mike, but that meant only Kevin and Mia wouldn't be invited. They decided, so Mia and Kevin wouldn't feel left out, they would just make this a family dinner."

"So?"

"They were going to talk to the others later. Mia has a kid now, but she still _just_ learned she can't get pregnant. If Kate is pregnant…"

"Mia might not take the news too well."

"It might hurt her," Lauren nodded. "It makes sense, right? I'm not crazy, am I? I could be overthinking this. I don't know."

"You're not crazy," Jayden took her hand in his and smiled, "When Emily and I picked them up from jail, we saw something that made us a little suspicious."

"That Kate was pregnant?"

"That Ji and Kate were engaged," Jayden said, "but, if Kate was pregnant, she would tell Ji and they might consider getting married so…"

"So… our family is about to get a little bigger and a lot stranger?"

"If we're right," Jayden nodded his head. "But Ji did sound excited over the phone, so even if it is that, I think this might be a good thing?"

"I don't plan on moving out. I don't want to move out. I just got home. I love Riley, and Terran's adorable, but I know what babies do. I know how loud they get. I remember you were a terror."

"Hey!"

"I don't know if I'm ready for this?"

"Everything's going to be okay," Jayden promised. "You survived being a big sister once."

"Not for long."

"It's your second shot, and that's only if we're right. We could be way off the mark. For all we know, they could have just gotten matching tattoos that they want to share with us. It's going to be fine."

"And if it is a baby?"

"If it's not?"

Lauren gave Jayden a glare, then leaned back in her seat to pout, "Mom did that, you know. I never liked it. I still don't."

"Normally people compare me to dad," Jayden chuckled. "Glad to know I got _something_ from mom."

"You got a lot from mom, it's just that no one talks about her," Lauren said and then sat up straight and put her hand in the air. Serena and Emily had arrived and were looking around for the table.


	43. Big News At Dinner

Mike's football practice was coming to an end, and he was impressed by what he saw. The year before, when he had joined the football team as a spy for Serena, football had been all about the sport: tackling each other, beating each other to the ground for a ball, and intimidating the opponents and anyone who stood in the way of the team: be it another team or a small ninth grader. This year was difference. Influenced by Serena from the year before, and encouraged to play nice by teachers and coaches who saw the error in their styles, the football team was more about playing, having fun, improving skills and making friends. Of course, the game was still rough. Football wasn't football without a few hard hits and very rough training, but the students seemed to be enjoying it.

Mike had played football for a while when he had been a teenager. His father thought it would teach him discipline and help him get motivated. Mike did like the sport, but at the time nothing could motivate him more than pizza and video games. He had picked up on a few tricks from playing, and knew a few moves he could team the players that stemmed from being a Samurai and being a Ranger. Fighting Nighlok was a little like playing football. In both cases, this team didn't want to be taken down. Some practice with speed, agility, an anticipating their opponent's next move would do wonders for the team.

He had to laugh at himself. Two years ago he never would have given learning a second thought. Now, his mind was racing with different ways to teach, and different ways to convey his lessons to his students. He had never imagined himself being a teacher or a coach. Now he couldn't imagine doing anything else. This job was much better than sitting behind a desk and in a cubicle all day.

As he packed up some of his gear, he noticed Frankie walking across the field. The team had gone to the change rooms for their showers, but Mike would take his at home. Seeing Frankie made him forget, and even if he was on the other side of the football field, he was too close to Mike. The former green Ranger felt his blood boiling once more as he tried everything he could to keep his cool.

He remembered the panic he felt when Emily had gone missing. He remembered the fear in not knowing whether she was dead or alive, and if she was alive, whether she was suffering. Then he remembered when he found out she had been kidnapped by some freaky kid with a stalker attitude and an insane crush. He remembered rescuing her, and how Frankie had messed with Emily's head. He had comforted her upon her return and had hated to see her so down on herself again. Because of what Frankie had made her do, Emily had returned home to Mike hating herself. She had kissed Frankie. She had given him the same kind of love she gave Mike and she hated herself for that. Emily was a good person and a kind soul. She would never do anything to hurt Mike or cheat on him – of this he was sure. She had felt dirty because of Frankie, and she felt like she had disrespected Mike in the worse way. He hadn't been happy when he learned about the kiss, but he had put no blame on Emily. Still, it had taken a while for Emily's tears to dry and Mike hated anytime Emily was upset. More than that, he hated anyone who made Emily upset.

He hated anyone who threatened to take Emily away from him, especially when she wasn't willing to leave.

Frankie made it across the field safely, but only just. He jumped the fence and walked down the road and Mike went back to packing his bag. He took a few deep breaths and knew that once he and Emily were both home, they were going to have a serious talk. He was scared of what he would do if he didn't ask for her help.

-Samurai-

Ji and Kate were the last to arrive for the dinner they had planned, but they had arrived with smiles. Even Ji, who had been nervous when Lauren left the Shiba House, had excitement radiating off him. When they took their seats at the table, Ji and Kate instantly ordered a round of drinks for the table, and a special alcohol free drink for the underage Emily (who let out a huff of discontent).

Though happy with the lack of alcohol, Emily was still excited. Like Jayden, she had her suspicions about an engagement between Ji and Kate, and seemed very pleased with the idea of her mentor and her aunt getting married. Jayden was somewhere in between. He was happy for his father figure, but Lauren's suspicions had him a little worried there was something more than just rings and vows in the near future.

Lauren was the most nervous. She had just come home to a family after being along for so many years. She liked Ji, and she liked Kate, and she figured them getting married would only make the Shiba House feel more like a home, and her little family would feel more like a family, but if she was right, there was going to be a new baby soon. As much as she loved her niece and nephew, she wasn't ready for a baby in her strange little family. She knew they took a lot of time from their parents and demanded a lot of responsibility. Lauren remembered not seeing as much of either of her parents when Jayden had been born, and missed out on a few special memories with her mother because of him. She couldn't let that happen again.

Her family was weird. She would be the first to admit that. She did like it, though. Ji was growing on her as a father figure. It was obvious he did love and care for her – having known her as a child. She was the daughter and the first born child of Ji's very best friend who died tragically. Ji was, is Lauren remembered right, her godfather. It was his responsibility to care for her now that her father had passed and she was home. She liked that. She loved knowing she had a father to lean on and rely on when life got in her way and presented her with new and difficult challenges.

Kate was also growing into Lauren's family. Lauren had never considered getting a new mother. She had always known about Ji, and in some ways was very happy he wanted to become a new father in her life, but Lauren had never considered the possibility of getting a new mother figure. Still, Kate had been kind and patient as long as Lauren had known her, and Serena and Emily had nothing but nice things to say about her. Sometimes, Lauren felt like Kate did treat her like a daughter. She listened when Lauren spoke, gave the girl advice using her own life experiences, and Kate even cared for Lauren. Though her hand was mostly healed from when she had rescued Riley from the trunk of a car by breaking the window, Lauren remembered the earlier stages of her recovery. Without being asked, and without Lauren making any indication of her hand bothering her, Kate brought Lauren frozen peas and ice-packs to ease the pain, and went out of her way to make sure her hand was healing properly. She had always been gentle and thoughtful towards Lauren, and in return, Lauren opened up to her. Thinking about it now, Lauren had never asked for a mother, but she was happy to have one.

So if Kate was pregnant, she would lose her parents for a third time. Nervous as she could get, Lauren was barely paying any attention to the table talk and wished Ji and Kate would just spit out their big news.

The appetizers came and the Samurai dug in. Jayden had just finished sharing Lauren's idea for a Samurai Academy and had passed the sharing of news over to Serena, who from the moment she had walked into the restaurant looked like she had something to say.

"How was the first day back?" Jayden asked her, "Anyone recognize you?"

"Plenty of people," Serena nodded and her hand started to shake as she lifted the nacho from the plate, "I recognized a few people too… and I've heard some students have come back."

"Really?" Ji asked. "Like a victory lap?"

"Remember Howie? I crossed him in the halls after lunch. He didn't earn enough credits to graduate. He's working for that this year."

"I remember Howie," Ji nodded his head and pointed a small glare at Emily. She shrunk in her seat sheepishly and turned to Serena.

"How's the nose I think still deserves to be broken?"

"He's healed up well," Serena said. "I don't think he'll be earning himself anymore broken noses. One was more than enough, Monster."

Serena then breathed in a deep sigh, "There's something else… something… worrying."

"Is that teacher that scarred me back?" Emily asked, sitting up in her seat, "The one that bullied you and hung up naked pictures of her and James doing things dogs would find shameful?"

"What?" Kate asked tentatively, not sure she wanted to know what her niece was talking about. Serena waved it off.

"Marissa's long gone. It's… it's… he's back."

"He?" Jayden stretched out the word a little, hoping Serena would pick up the hint and get on with what she wanted to say. Serena refused, though and with a shake of her head she turned to Ji.

"It's nothing that can't wait. Tonight's your night. What's the big news?"

"Serena, if you have something to say, you can say it," Kate assured her with a gentle smile, "Ji and I don't plan on sharing until dessert?"

Lauren heard this and winced. She would have to wait even longer now before finding out if her family would disappear once more. Jayden reached across the table and took her hand, mouthing to her that everything would be okay no matter what happened.

Serena leaned back in her seat, "I don't know how to say it gently."

"Just say it," Kate said, "We'll listen, don't worry."

"It's not listening that worries me," Serena turned to look at Emily, "Remember Frankie?"

Emily felt a lump form in the back of her throat and nodded her head, "Y-yeah."

"He's in first period gym, second period math, third period English, and fourth period with the guidance counsellor. Not that I'm stalking I just… happened to be walking the same way he was between classes and… Emily?"

"You know what I like. Order for me," Emily got up from the table as the waited came by to take their dinner orders, "I'll be in the bathroom."

"Emily," Serena called and got up after her sister, following her into the bathroom.

Jayden gripped his knife tightly as he told the waiter to give them a minute. Ji was visibly tense the moment Frankie's name was mentioned. Lauren sat up a little straighten, sensing there was something wrong (not that it was hard), and Kate seemed very baffled.

"Who is Frankie?" she asked Jayden and Ji. Neither gave an answer. Jayden continued to play with his knife while Ji shook his head.


	44. Starting A Family

"MIKE!" James called for the umpteenth times, finding he had to shout to get Mike to hear him. He had just put Terran to bed and he could hear Mike's cries and shouts from two floors up. Not wanting Terran's sleep to be disturbed, James had gone to Mike in the basement workout room to see what was bothering him. He found the Samurai beating savagely into a punching bag. Mike looked so out of control James was nervous about walking into the room and choose to stay by the stairs and behind the railing. Mike had promised to get his rage under control when he got angry, but there were times where he slipped up.

Not wanting to get hurt, James kept his distance even after Mike stopped beating up the punching bag.

"I love a good workout as much as the next guy, but your nephew is trying to have sweet dreams," James scolded. "Think you can tone it down at bit with the screams?"

"I can't get his face out of my head," Mike took a sip of water and then tossed the bottle across the room.

"Not a good first day?"

"My day was great," Mike said. "The students have turned around; most of the staff is on board with bullying prevention and have a renewed desire to educate students. I love my job."

"So, this is you after a good day at work? Maybe teaching isn't for you."

"Frankie," it was all Mike had to say. James stumbled down the last couple of steps, a little shocked at the mention of the name. He knew all about Frankie. Everyone knew about Frankie.

"Don't tell me…"

"Good behaviour, apparently," Mike rolled his eyes, "No sense denying a misguided kid a good education. He's talking to the guidance counsellor, he's seeing therapists. Apparently, he's even got a therapy dog for companionship. They think he's finally turned around."

"Maybe he has," James was hoping he was right, but a strong feeling in his gut told him he wasn't. Mike shook his head.

"I know this is going to sound ridiculous. Emily's a Samurai. She saved the world. She can take care of herself."

"I know, Mike, I…"

"I don't want him anywhere near her," Mike said. "He's in the city. That's too close for me. I… I know what he's capable of."

"We all do, Mike, but sometimes all people need is a little… push. Frankie was taken care of, and if specialist think he's good and safe, who are we to argue…"

"He tried to rape Emily."

"She said it didn't…"

"Doesn't matter," Mike answered and then took a seat on the bench. He kicked some weights, ignoring the pain it caused his toes, "I'm not talking about what he did as a kid. Did Serena ever tell you of the time we discovered Nighlok Terran needed Sanzu Water?"

"When he had been crying constantly, yeah," James nodded. "You found some…"

"I was supposed to go to the past, fill up a bottle from a recently covered pool and then come back to the present. Instead, I went to the future."

"To the…"

"Fifteen years into the future. Everything was very different because I was gone. Serena was dead, you had left…"

"I left? I left Terran after Serena died?"

"I'm not blaming you," Mike said, "I know you never would now but things were different back then. You weren't a daddy. Besides, Terran was fine. Emily raised him."

"She would be a good mom."

"Terran said she was. It's just… my going to the future meant that for fifteen years I had disappeared. Emily never moved on, which is touching, but she met a guy. She met Frankie. He tried to hit on her and she rejected him. He's the kind of ass who doesn't take now for an answer. When I got to the future, Mia and Kevin got a call from Terran. Frankie had gotten into the house and…"

"That's not going to happen," James finally felt it was safe enough to approach Mike. He sat beside him on the bench and wrapped his arm around his shoulder, "You're here for Emily this time. She can protect herself, and she's got you looking after her, and I'll bet Frankie never got help in High School like he did in this time. Everything's different…"

"He's still got a crush on my wife," Mike shook his head, "He's still a slime ball. In that future, Kevin and Mia were married. Jayden and Antonio were married. Some things stayed the same. What if Frankie isn't someone who can change? What if there's nothing I can do? She was ruined by a kiss last time, James. If Frankie gets his way."

"Enough has changed," James assure Mike. "You just need to relax. If you stay angry, you're going to do something you'll regret. You're going to hurt someone. If that happens, you might not be able to protect Emily. Take a deep breathe, and when you're ready we can watch a DVD or something upstairs. You'll forget all about today."

"Thanks, James."

James nodded his head and got up. He was halfway to the stairs when he remembered something important and turned around, "What about at school? If Frankie's back and he's causing you this much…"

"I'll keep away from him. We've got a plan. Speaking of, know _anything_ about cheerleading?"

"I know how to type it into Google?" James joked, "Shall we?"

Mike nodded his head and followed James up the stairs.

-Samurai-

Emily didn't like the news of Frankie being back one bit. Though she had suffered worse, it was one thing to be hurt by a Nighlok – a monster designed for chaos, pain, and suffering. It was another thing entirely to be hurt by another human being. Even worse, Frankie was just a common man. Frankie was just a kid.

From the moment shit hit the fan, Emily had been humiliated. She had trusted him, like she trusted everyone who gave her a kind smile, and he had led her astray. Then, in spite of her martial art skills and her job fighting monsters for a living, a kid had gotten the best of her. With a little help from the edge of the counter, Frankie had taken the advantage, won the battle, and tied her up, keeping her down for the rest of the kidnapping. He had shattered her trust, had disgraced her as a Samurai, as a human, as a young woman, and as a girlfriend.

Mike had been amazing to her when she got home. In spite of her admitting to him that she had willing kissed Frankie with the same passion she gave Mike, he never looked to her different. She knew it upset him, and possibly killed him inside, but he understood. Above everything, he understood exactly why it happened and how much she hated herself for having to give into Frankie. He had even been romantic about it and gave her a kiss. From that moment, even with Frankie's undoable forced romance, Mike was still Emily's first and last love.

Emily still couldn't shake what had happened. She couldn't forget how it felt to betray Mike, and how it felt to be so vulnerable, beaten, disgraced, ashamed, scared, and broken. She had been so broken.

She hid in the bathroom stall, curled up on the toilet and rocking slightly as she tried to wait it out. She didn't know what would happen if she waited, or what she was going to do, but she couldn't force herself to do anything but sit in a ball on the toilet, think, and rock.

"Emily?" Serena's voice echoed in the small bathroom as she came after her sister. She had always known the day Frankie came back would be upsetting to Emily. Serena remembered the morning after bringing Emily home. Her little sister shared everything in great detail and Serena had done what she was very used to doing. She took her broken sister in her arms while gently and warmly offering her comfort. At the same time, another side of her had been angry – angrier than she had ever been or even than she had ever seen Mike get. Still, tucked away in her drawers she had notes detailing a plan to kill Frankie. Should anything ever happen to him, it would surely be enough to throw Serena in jail for the rest of her life on charges of murder.

Hearing her sister's voice, Emily stepped down from the toilet and opened the door to the stall. Serena, again, found herself holding her little sister in her arms.

"They tell me he's changed," Serena said. "I don't know if it's true."

"What if it's not?" Emily asked. "He's… he's sneaky, Serena. He's mean and sneaky and… deceptive."

"And he's never going to hurt you again, I promise," Serena held her sister's arms and looked her right in the eye. "He's at school where Mike and I can keep an eye on him."

"But what about when he's not at school?"

"He's got no idea where you live, Emily. You'll have James at home, Lauren, Kate, and Ji at the Shiba House if ever James needs to leave for the day, and Mia and Kevin, and Jayden and Antonio only a few blocks away. Even if Frankie's on a path to get you back, he'll have so much standing in his way, he'll never make it. Trust me, he's never going to touch you."

"Okay."

Serena gave her little sister a smile and then pulled her in for one more comforting hug. It last long enough for Emily to dry her tears and wipe the concern off her face. Serena gave her a little squeeze.

"Don't be an attention hog. Frankie's not a big deal, and Ji and Kate sound like they have news that is. Are you ready to go out there?"

Emily nodded her head with a smile. She stuck close to her sister as they walked back to their table. Emily saw a few sympathetic looks from her friends but offered them a smile in return.

"It's fine. Don't worry about it."

"Don't worry?" Kate was obviously the most worried, "Emily, what that guy did…"

"He won't do again," Serena assured her aunt. Just then, the main course arrived. "You owe us important news. That's why we're all here."

"Dessert," Kate promised. The meals started to be eaten in silence. No one was really sure what to say about Frankie. Lauren and Kate had just learned about the kid with a massive crush on Emily, and Ji and Jayden couldn't say anything without tensing up. Serena kept plotting out her murder in her head, trying to find ways to make it look like an unfortunate natural death.

Emily was most uncomfortable with the silence so she spoke up, "Terran was learning to dance at lunch."

It was Lauren's turn to be uncomfortable as the conversation shifted over to Terran and baby talk. She could only hope that wasn't an unplanned but very convenient transition into the big news at dessert. The waiting and the anxiety were going to kill her.

Finally, the plates were empty and cleared and the waiter came to see if the table was interested in desserts. Before anyone could place an order, Ji and Kate ordered an entire cake from the dessert bar. The waiter left with the order and Ji took Kate's hand.

"I guess this is it," he said with a smile, "the reason we're all here."

"The big news," Serena was the only one who didn't have a clue or assumption. She hadn't been at the jail and so hadn't seen the ring of bread around Kate's finger, and she didn't live at the Shiba House so she hadn't heard Ji and Kate spending a night together.

"As you all know," Kate started as she turned to Ji and looked at him lovingly, "Ji and I have been contacts for many years but recently we started communicating on a regular basis and…"

"You fell in love," Emily smiled, hoping to skip the introductory small talk. "We were all there for that… well, almost. Sorry Lauren."

Lauren waved it off. She didn't care about the details. She just wanted to know, yes or no, if Ji and Kate were with child. She wanted to know if, once again, her parents would be ripped away from her.

"We will never regret staying behind when the city came after you," Ji said. He wrapped his arm around Kate and looked to the Samurai, "It was one of our toughest experiences, being in jail, but we faced it together."

"Blah, blah, blah," Emily was bouncing in her seat, positive the news was what she was expecting, "No details. Facts, please!"

Finally, Lauren found something she could agree with. She sat up a little higher in her chair, hoping Ji and Kate got the push they needed to get it out.

"We were wondering if you four wanted to come with us to the jewellers after dessert," Kate smiled. She looked to Emily and Jayden specifically, "I think we can all agree bread does not make a good engagement ring, especially when you're hungry."

Though Serena was a little lost by the phrasing, she got the message, and along with Jayden and Emily she got up and went over to her aunt and Ji to congratulate them on their engagement. Lauren gave her congratulations as well, and though she was happy there was no baby, she knew it was coming. Ji and Kate were getting older, but they weren't _old_ yet. They would have to do so quickly given Kate's age, but they could still have kids. If they really wanted to, and if they really tried (another reason Lauren wasn't looking forward to a new baby) it could happen.

While Ji was telling the girls and Jayden about the engagement, and how he managed to make a proposal romantic even behind bars, Kate turned to Lauren and saw a saddened look. Lauren wasn't listening to the story, and instead she was playing with the table cloth. She reached over and touched Lauren's arm.

"I'm not trying to replace your mother. I know this is all a little… odd. Starting a family is never an easy transition."

Lauren gulped and nodded her head, "Yeah, I miss mom."

"Will you be my maid of honour?"

Lauren looked up. She was startled this was happening. She had figured one of Kate's friends would have that honour – likely Serena and Emily's mother. If not, she thought Serena would be next in line, or Emily. They were her nieces, after all, and more family to Kate that Lauren ever would be.

"Really?"

"We share a house. Getting together to plan the wedding will be easier than driving all the way out to the country to meet up with Ellie," Kate nodded her head. "Besides, it's going to be a big change for all of us, and it'll be easier if we all get a say on it. What do you think?"

"I've never been maid of honour before. I don't really know what that means."

"I'll help you," Kate promised and then pulled Lauren in for a hug. Lauren accepted the embrace, but still couldn't get the thought of the baby out of her mind. If Kate and Ji did want a child, and if they did have a child, where would that put Lauren? She wasn't anything to Kate – not biologically and not like the baby would be. She had known Ji since she was a child, but given the years of separation, she barely knew him at all. If they had a baby, their own baby, surely she was going to get lost.

"_Mama?" Lauren poked her head into the new baby's room and saw her mother rocking a very loud baby in a rocking chair as she tried desperately to sooth the little boy._

"_Not now, Lauren. Mommy's busy," her mother got up from the chair and ushered Lauren out of the room, "If it's important, go talk to daddy."_

_Lauren nodded her head and scurried away from the room. Since the baby had come there was never much time for her. Her little brother was always crying and always demanding attention. It was like he didn't know that his mommy was Lauren's mommy first._

_Still, she had her father. Lauren rushed to the common room and saw her father digging through her toy box. Excited because she thought he was going to play with her, she bounced happily into the room._

"_Lauren," he groaned and pulled out a teddy from the box. Since her little had been born, Lauren got into the habit of hiding his toys. If he would take her mother from her, she was going to take his toys. It wasn't like he used them anyways._

_Donnie didn't even see Lauren. He tucked the bear under his arm and then grabbed a blanket and a warm bottle of milk before he raced down to the baby's room. Lauren hugged the board game she had been carrying around and watched her father leave as well._

"_Once Jayden settles down for his nap, perhaps they will play with you then," Lauren heard Ji say and turned around, seeing the man standing behind her. He took the game from her arms and walked her to the dojo, "Why don't you take this time to practice those Symbols daddy showed you?"_

_Lauren did as she was asked and traced what she then thought were just squiggly lines while her baby brother cried and cried. Eventually he did settled down. As soon as the house was quiet, Lauren put her paintbrush back in the pot and raced down the hall._

"_Mama! Daddy! Candyland…"_

"_After dinner, Lauren," her very exhausted mother told her and gave her a kiss on the head, "Daddy and I are going to try and get some sleep before Jayden wakes up again."_

"_But… but…" Lauren saw her parents disappear into the bedroom. She let out a huff, turned around, and stomped her little feet down to the common room. She grabbed her board game and some of her dolls. She set them around the table. If her parents weren't going to play with her, she would play without them._


	45. Upstairs Neighbours

Kevin loved his sleep. It wasn't obvious to the others because he was always up early and rarely chose to sleep in, but he loved being under the soft, warm blankets, curled up nicely in his comfortable bed, and he loved slowly drifting off to sleep.

A little hand on his face interrupted the moment for him. A little hand tapped against his cheek, forcing him out of his slumber. He let out a groan but couldn't roll over and ignore the little hand. He had a daughter now and even the nights didn't belong to him anymore.

"Riley? Mia's on the other side," Kevin and Riley had made their connection, but Mia was still Riley's favourite by far. She was the one Riley wanted when she was scared, and she was the one Riley woke up in the middle of the night after having a nightmare.

"Mia gets grumpy when she's tired," Riley whispered. She hugged her pink Ranger teddy bear and pointed to the other side of the bed. Mia's maternal instincts were amazing, but for the last several days she had been tending to Riley day and night. The little girl was still recovering from a concussion and was still having nightmares from the war that killed her birth parents and from when she watched her brother and cat die. She needed a watchful eye on her at all times. Finally, it was the first night where Riley had gone to bed without a fuss, and stayed asleep long enough for Mia to sleep in her own bed. It seemed nothing would get her out of bed tonight. She was too tired to know her daughter needed her.

Kevin sat up, lifted Riley up and set her down in the bed, "What's wrong? Head or nightmares?"

"There's a noise in my room," Riley told her father. "I think there's a monster in my closet."

"A monster? Really?" Kevin pushed the blankets down and got out of bed, "Let me have a look for you."

He took Riley's hand and walked with her back to her room. She hugged her bear tightly and stayed by the door while Kevin turned on the bedroom light and approached the closet.

"In here?" he asked. Riley nodded. Suddenly, a loud thump could be heard. Riley whimpered and hid her face in her teddy bear while Kevin jumped slightly from surprise. He knew monsters weren't real (not anymore, thanks to him and the Rangers), but after hearing the thump even he was scared of the closet. Still, knowing his role as daddy was to be the big, strong man that defended his family, Kevin did as he promised. He opened the closet door and looked inside. Nothing out of the ordinary was inside.

"No monsters," he promised Riley, but the thumping noise did have him concerned. He walked back to Riley, took her in his arms and then put her back in her bed. He left her bedroom light on and together they listened for the thumping noise again.

It was heard, but it was different. It was a thumb, followed by a scratching sound, like someone was scratching their nails against a fabric. It took him a moment, but Kevin looked up. The sound wasn't coming from the closet, but from the ceiling.

"Poop," he said because Riley was too young to hear what he really wanted to say, "That's no monster, Riles."

"What is it?" Riley whispered.

"Varmint."

"What?"

"There's something in the attic."

"A monster?"

"Nope," Kevin shook his head and started to leave the room. Riley followed him, wanting to know what was happening. She watched as Kevin picked up a flashlight and then opened up the access door and started to climb into the attic.

Kevin was looking for something small. He had never had an animal trapped in his attic before – mostly because this was the first house he had ever owned. He heard it was common for some rats or mice to make a home in the upper part of the house and figured one of the small creatures had gotten in.

What he saw surprised him. The minute he was up in the attic and he turned the flashlight on he saw beady eyes staring back at him. It wasn't just a rat or a mouse; it was a full grown racoon. He let out a cry, having been startled, and nearly tumbled down the steps that led up to the ladder. He dropped the flashlight on his way down, but he wouldn't need it anymore tonight. The raccoon had startled him enough. He closed the access door, and took Riley in his arms.

"You're sleeping with us tonight," he carried her back into their room.

"There is a monster upstairs?"

"Just a big pest."

"How big?"

Kevin lay Riley in the middle of the bed and then crawled in beside her. He tucked in the blankets, "A raccoon. A dirty, stinky raccoon."

"A raccoon? In the upstairs?"

"I'll call someone to get rid of it tomorrow."

"Why is the raccoon in the upstairs?"

"I don't know, Riley. Just go to sleep."

"Is it cold outside?"

"Maybe, but raccoons should be outside. Humans live inside."

"Why?"

"Because we… do?"

"Why?"

"Riley, sleep."

"We no use the upstairs. Mr. Nibbles can stay."

"You named him?"

"Can he be my pet? Like Muffin."

"No."

"Why?"

"Because he's a raccoon. He's a wild animal."

"Muffin was a manimal," Riley said, "She was my pet and she lived inside."

"Raccoons are different."

"Why?"

Kevin groaned loudly and rolled over, "Sleepy time. Goodnight, Riley. I love you."

-Samurai-

Mike and James were having a movie marathon as they waited for the girls to get home after what was a really long dinner with Ji and Kate. Midway through their third movie, the door finally opened and Emily and Serena were home. James put the movie on pause as Mike got up to great the sisters.

"Hey… oomph!" he loved Emily's hugs but when they were strong they could sometimes be a little much. Still, he wrapped his arms around her, "I, uh… I missed you too, Em."

"I told her about Frankie," Serena said as she put away the coats. "It came up at dinner."

Mike shrugged his shoulders, "I told James."

"Serena also said you're working with him," Emily looked up at Mike with a worried look, "I want him gone, but Mike…"

"I worked something out. Either of you know anything about coaching cheerleading?"

"I helped Mitch," Serena shrugged her shoulders, "I could give you some of the pointers I gave him. After you tell me how you got into cheerleading."

"I've hurt myself standing still," Emily shook her head, "You don't want my advice on cheerleading."

"Someone's got to be good at this stuff," Mike muttered. He then gestured upstairs, "Em, we should probably talk a bit about the Frankie thing, though."

Emily nodded her head and handed her crutches to James while Mike lifted her and carried her up the stairs. It was easier and safer than letting Emily go up the stairs on one foot.

James nudged Serena when Mike and Emily were out of earshot, "I hope you know, I want…"

"I'll film everything, I promise," Serena chuckled and gave James a kiss.

"Mike and cheerleading. Who knew?"


	46. Lauren's Family

Mike went into work that morning feeling better about his problem with Frankie. He and Emily had talked well into the night, and though they were both worried about Frankie's return, they were confident everything would work itself out. Coach Hall, the woman who would be supervising Mike, had agreed to let him step away during the period where Frankie had gym. Instead of work in the gym helping students play sports or run laps, Mike would be in a different part of the school to work with a few of the boys from the cheerleading team who needed a little extra hand with routine and rhythm. Mike knew very little about the sport itself, admitting to mostly admiring cheerleaders when they were around, but anything was better than keeping himself in a room with Frankie.

His little knowledge of cheerleading would be much help for the first couple of days, but if Mike had learned anything about the sport it was trust. Cheerleading was intense, it was dangerous, and some of the students rarely had their feet on the ground. If these boys were going to have what it took to be on the team, they were going to have to learn to trust each other. Mike was sure that by now they were friends, but they needed to go a little deeper.

It was for that reason he brought Serena with him. She rarely had work to do when the students were in class and so she had the free time to be Mike's aid. After getting to know the names of the boys, Mike introduced himself and Serena.

Of course, he always loved to mess with Serena.

"This is my wicked sister in-law."

"Mike," Serena growled and crossed her arms over her chest, "Don't make me…"

"Look, guys," Mike kept his attention on the students. Serena wouldn't do anything to him. Not with so many eyes watching, "Being part of a team is great, and you do make friends, but there can also be a lot of tension, right Serena?"

"Yeah," Serena nodded her head and continued to glare at Mike. "Like when your puny brother in-law calls you wicked."

"Serena and I are on a team," Mike continued on, "You will see us bickering from time to time, but we care for each other. We've been through so much that this is a woman who I would trust with my life. And I have."

"That almost makes up for calling me wicked."

"Being on a team demands that you trust and respect your partners. No matter what may come between you, you need to have faith that your team, your friends have your back. So, this is our first exercise: find your best friend in the room."

Almost instantly the boys teams up with the person sitting next to them. As usual, friends all sat together which made the partner selection very easy. Mike nodded his head, "Alright, now you're going to pair up with someone who isn't your partner."

The teens looked reluctant, but did as their coach asked. Mike smiled to himself and then started passing out blindfolds around the room, giving one to each pair. Then he gave one to Serena.

"What the…"

"Until lunch, one of you will be wearing the blindfold and you will be guided to your classes by your partner. They will make sure you don't bump into other students, things, that you have the right books, and that you make it to the right classes. They will lead you all the way to your desk. Once in the class, you can take off the blindfold to take notes, but you will put them back on at the bell and wait for your partner to pick you up. After lunch, you will switch."

"Will this work?" Serena asked. "What about the other students who need to race to their class and lockers after? Teacher's don't like late-comers."

"Will a note from me work?" Mike asked and handed papers around the room, all signed with his name. Serena shrugged her shoulders.

"I guess."

"Really?" Mike smirked, "Wow, awesome. My signature's never gotten me out of anything before. Now I can show up to class late."

At that moment, the bell rang. Half the students in the room put their blindfolds off and were led around by their partners. Initially there were a few bumps and missteps, but they all made it out of the door just fine. Serena put her blindfold on.

"This is crazy. It might work, but it's crazy. How did you come up with it?"

"Kind of a spin off idea from that time Kevin and I got stuck together," Mike shrugged his shoulders and made sure the blindfold was actually making Serena blind and she wasn't cheating by leaving a peep-hole. "I initially thought of that last night, but then I realized the school might not like me tying up students. So I did the blind folds."

"We'll see how this work," Serena felt Mike take her arm as he started to lead her out of the room. Suddenly, she walked into something hard, "OW! Mike!"

"Sorry. It was a desk."

"Yeah, just don't let it… OW!"

"Wow, you really can't see, huh. That was a wall."

"Michael… OW!"

"That was just for fun," Mike chuckled. Serena rubbed her nose and growled.

"Just remember, _you'll_ be blindfolded this afternoon and _I'll_ have to guide you."

"Uh… right. Careful, open locker!"

-Samurai-

Riley and Mia were enjoying a board game in the living room. Riley was still suffering a bit from her concussion, and the flashing lights from the TV hurt her too much, so she had to find something else to do during the day that would allow her to relax. Mia had no plans, and so once again she spent the day keeping her daughter entertained. It was fun, and Mia enjoyed it, but it could get exhausting. Even with a concussion keeping her down, Riley was still very energetic.

Kevin had shared the news of the raccoon in the attic and promised to bring home something to take care of the problem after he came home from working at the pool. Mia and Riley were right in the middle of their game of Candyland when the front door opened. Kevin was back and he was carrying a rather large cage with him.

"The guy at the store promised this would catch that bugger," Kevin said to Mia as he set down the cage, "Humanely, of course."

"You're going to lock Mr. Nibbles in a cage?" Riley looked at the cage sadly and then up to her father, "Won't Mr. Nibbles get scared?"

"Just for a little bit," Kevin nodded and gave Riley a pat on the shoulder, "but we're not going to hurt him, I promise."

"Why can't Mr. Nibbles stay?" Riley tugged on Kevin's shirt, "I like him!"

"You've never seen him. Besides, he's an outdoor animal."

"But it's cold outside," Riley huffed. "Mr. Nibbles is cold."

"Our attic is not a space for raccoons," Kevin shook his head and then looked to Mia, "I'll set the trap upstairs and we'll check it every couple of hours for the raccoon."

"Mr. Nibbles," Riley corrected Kevin who paid her no attention. No matter what she named the creature, the raccoon had to go. Riley puffed her cheeks when she saw he was ignoring her, she started to drag the cage back outside.

"Shouldn't you call an exterminator?" Mia asked, seeing Riley trying to sneak the cage out from the corner of her eye. She just smirked and let her daughter be. "We're dealing with a raccoon. These guys can be quite clever and stubborn."

"I got Riley to stay," Kevin shrugged his shoulders, "If I can do that, I can get a raccoon to leave," he leaned over to pick up the cage but caught nothing except air. Looking down he saw his cage was already halfway out the door, "Riles."

"Mr. Nibbles likes our house. He should stay."

"He's going to ruin our house if we let him stay, Riley," Kevin shook his head and grabbed the cage. "Mia, can you help me set up the cage?"

"No way," Mia shook her head. She took Riley in her arms, "You can wrestle with the raccoon. Riley and I are going to see if someone can do this professionally. I'm not taking care of a concussed daughter and a rabies husband at the same time."

-Samurai-

Lauren didn't know how to bring up the issue of kids. Now that Ji and Kate were getting married, she was terrified her surrogate parents were going to want to start a family of their own, and she was terrified that family wouldn't include her. She had already lost both parents twice and now finally had a set that promised to be there for her in life. She didn't want to lose them either.

She was smart. She knew the decision was theirs and she would have to live with whatever they wanted, but she knew she had a voice. Before any baby decided to make its home in the Shiba House, she wanted to know where she stood.

She was subtle about it. While Ji and Kate were having lunch she snuck into Ji's room. He had a lot of her father's possessions tucked away in his closet and Lauren knew she would find what she was looking for. When she did, she grabbed the box and carried it to the common room. She pulled out the VCR and hooked it up to the TV, like she usually did for herself and Jayden when they had downtime as a kid. Fortunately, she remembered how to do it, even on a newer TV.

"Just like riding a bike," she muttered. She put a tape into the VCR and started it. It was family tapes from back when she was really young. Most of which had been taken before Jayden had been born.

Her plan backfired on her. Before Ji and Kate could come into the room to watch the tapes (where Lauren would watch their reactions to see if the thought of having a baby together pleased them), she was sobbing. Her time training to use the Sealing Symbol was the majority of her life. She had memories of her parents from before they died, but like anyone, her memories of early childhood were foggy, few, and majorly distorted in some cases. Watching it all play out on tape gave her another perspective. One she missed very much. Her parents had always loved her dearly, and she had loved them. She remembered training with her father and having fun not just with the training equipment, but with her Fire Symbols as well. He had always been great with her. He had always been the fun parent. Even if at times he was tough when it came to training, Lauren never once doubted she would have a good time when she was with her father.

Her mother was a different story. Her mother wasn't a Samurai, and had the Shiba Family duties sprung on her like any other spouse would. At the time, Lauren's father hadn't begun his war and so the possibility still existed that he would be the one to seal Xandred away for good, but Lauren's mother was never certain. She understood that if her husband failed, her oldest child – her daughter – would be forced to take his place. She hated how her husband had to be the red Ranger, but more than that, she hated the thought of her daughter having to carry the weight of the world on her shoulders.

The video started in Lauren's old bedroom, which was now known as Mia and Kevin's room. It was impossible to tell the time because the curtains on the window kept all the light out of the room, but it was time for sleep for Lauren. She could place her age at around two or three. She was big enough to have a bed instead of a crib, and big enough to be put to bed with only a bedtime story and a goodnight kiss.

Instead, she got the story and a long, cuddle with her mother afterwards. Lauren's mother rocked her in the same rocking chair Lauren remembered seeing her in with Jayden until she was sound asleep, and then a little longer. She looked down at her daughter lovingly, gently stroking her little cheeks with her fingers.

"One day, the war will end," Lauren's mother whispered very softly to the sleeping young girl in her arms. "Daddy's going to end it. You have to believe in him. He's working very hard to make sure the Nighlok can never, ever hurt you or anyone else. When it happens, we're all going to be very, very happy together. We'll get a house – a real house – somewhere in the city. You'll go to a regular school like all the other kids. You won't need to worry about training or being the red Ranger, or anything dangerous like that. I promise you, Lauren, everything's going to be okay. This war will end."

Lauren's mother gave her a loving squeeze before she got up from the chair. Just when Lauren thought she would be put to bed and left alone for the night, she saw her mother climb into bed with her, squeezing herself into the small space as she lay with her daughter.

"Everything's going to be okay," her mother promised her again, "No matter what happens, I'll always be here for you."

On the couch, Lauren hugged a pillow to her chest and wiped the tears from her eyes as she watched the video. Her bedtime with her mother ended, and was quickly replaced with a video of Lauren and her parents having a tea party in front of the Shiba House, which only made Lauren miss her parents even more. She was about to start crying again when a hand fell on her shoulder.

"That was the night your father told you, you needed to start training," Ji took a seat beside Lauren and sighed. "Your mother thought the decision was premature. He could still end the war and you would never know the pain of being a Samurai. She was terrified because she knew he was preparing for the worst."

Ji wrapped his arms around Lauren and let her cry on his shoulder, "Your mother loved you very much. She gave her life for you."

Lauren pulled away from Ji, "She… she did?"

She had known her mother was dead. There wasn't a way to hide that from a young girl. Because she was young, though, she didn't ask many questions about it. Of course, the why-question did come up often, but she never got real answers. Comfort answers, she would call them now. Her father and Ji only ever gave her comfort answers. By the time she was old enough to start asking serious questions and demanding serious answers she knew it was much too late, and preferred her comfort answers. And anyways, given the way her life went, it wasn't like anyone around her would know or care what had happened to her mother. They had bigger things to worry about.

"You had been feeling neglected. Your parents were so busy with Jayden they could hardly spend any time with you."

"I remember that," Lauren muttered. "Stupid little brother…"

"You began acting up. Nothing would calm you down. Your mother decided, one day, instead of punishing you, you would spend the day together. I remember the morning you woke up, knowing it was your special day with mommy. I have never seen you happier than on that day. I have also never seen you sadder. As you know, between wars, the occasional Mooger does break into our world. While the other families continue to train their newest Samurai without interruption, it is the responsibility of the Shiba Family to take care of the Moogers. While you and your mother were at the park, about a dozen turned up and they came after you. Your father hurriedly left the house, but he didn't make it in time."

Ji placed his hand on Lauren's leg, "That scar you have on your knee was the only injury the Moogers gave you."

"That's from Moogers?" Lauren looked down. She had no memory of this incident at all – even though it felt like it was something she would remember; something that would leave her scarred in more ways that just a mark on her knee, "My mentors always told me it was from messing around in training. It was a discipline trick."

"Your mother held off the Moogers as best she could. Unfortunately, beginner martial arts can only do so much for a woman whose opponents are armed with swords. Your mother took one through the chest just as your father arrived. If she hadn't of done that, that Mooger would have killed you."

"Mom and dad both died for… for me?"

"And they would do so again and again," Ji nodded his head. "Do not feel like this is your fault, Lauren. You were only a child and your mother did what any loving mother would do. And your father made his decision…"

Lauren nodded her head, "I miss them, Ji. I… I miss what I had… what I had before Jayden."

"I understand," Ji took Lauren back in his arms. "I will never try to take your father's place, but if you let me; us, Kate and I will be more than happy to give you back that feeling of home."

"What about… what if… you and Kate… if you have kids…"

"No," Ji shook his head and kissed the top of Lauren's, "We do not want kids. Not at our age. I've already got you and Jayden, and I'm more than happy with that. Kate got her fill helping Emily and Serena's parents. With Riley and Terran, and another other Samurai grandchildren, we'll have more than enough little ones to spoil rotten."

"No kids?" Lauren had to look at Ji to make sure he wasn't lying. This could just be a comfort answer. The future could change. Plans were never solid.

"You have a home here," Ji promised Lauren with a bright, warm smile, "You have a home, and Kate and I will help you with everything you need. We will be whatever you need us to be. That was one of my terms for our engagement. That the three of us and Jayden be the family you've always dreamed of."

"It was a term?"

"A deal breaker," Ji nodded. "Not that it was much for Kate to think about. She agreed before I could finish speaking."

Lauren looked up at Ji with a big, bright smile and then threw her arms around him, "I love you."

Ji looked down at Lauren and gave her a tight squeeze. Since she had come back, he hadn't heard her mutter those words to anyone. For years she had been kept at arm's length from everyone who did come near her. She had been alone for so long, and ripped away from those she did love. Naturally, it was hard for her to open up and settled into a family again. Even more, it was hard for her to admit to herself and admit out loud that she cared for someone so deeply that it was love. She had a lot of irreplaceable friends, a niece she did care for very, very deeply, and a brother she would risk her life for, but she hadn't yet told anyone she loved them.

Ji did all he could do: he gave her a loving squeeze and whispered back, "I love you too, Lauren."


	47. That Parent- Child 'Lationshit

It had been of a battle, and the waiting game had been torture, but when Mia and Riley came back from a check-up at the doctor's, Kevin had a surprise waiting for them in the backyard.

"Mrs. Nibbles!" Riley cried out in a panic when she saw the raccoon trapped in a cage on the back porch and trying to get out. Mia wrapped her arms around Kevin and gave him a kiss.

"I guess I was wrong."

"I'm sorry, I didn't really hear you," Kevin leaned in a little closer, "Can you…?"

"I was wrong. You could do it," Mia smiled and then had to grab Riley's arm to keep the four year old from approaching the cage, "Did you…"

"I sealed off the entrance and reinforced it," Kevin nodded his head, "And animal control's going to come by to pick up this guy in a few minutes, so the problem's gone. There are going to be no more monsters waking us up in the middle of the night."

"Mrs. Nibbles is a girl," Riley looked up at Kevin and smirked knowingly, "Mia did the sea-search."

"We were already running a little late for the appointment when I stumbled upon it," Mia hissed inwardly as she gave Kevin the disappointing news. "More times than not, momma raccoons get into attics to give birth to and raise their babies. I'll bet you putting Riley to bed that we still have raccoons up in the attic."

"You're kidding me," Kevin groaned.

"You can't leave the babies, Kevin," Riley tugged on her father's arm, "Now can Mrs. Nibbles stay?"

"Mrs. Nibbles… the raccoon still needs to go," Kevin shook his head and put on a pair of gloves, "But I'll do everything in my power to make sure her babies stay with her."

-Samurai-

Lauren knew she didn't have to train anymore. Her responsibilities as the red Ranger had ended and there was no need to keep up with her training, but she still enjoyed spending time in the dojo beating on dummies and practicing her martial arts. Being a Samurai was all she knew and with the pressure of saving the world now off her shoulders, she found it to be quite enjoyable.

"Once you get your Academy up and running, your students are going to be very lucky to have a sensei as qualified as you," Kate announced as she walked into the dojo with some snacks. Lauren had been working for a while and Kate thought she could use the break.

She was also using this as an excuse to talk. She would never ask or expect Ji to break Lauren's trust but now that they had plans on getting married they had few secrets between them. Ji had shared Lauren's concerns with Kate. He knew this was something the two women needed to figure out together. Lauren made it clear she wanted Ji to stay in her life, and that meant Kate would be there too. It would be for the best and a lot easier if everyone in the house was on the same page.

Kate set the snacks down on the bench as Lauren drank some water and dried her sweat with a towel. Then she took a seat beside Kate and gave her a smile. Kate decided the no secrets deal she had made with Ji would extend to Lauren. Their family was complicated enough without any secrets.

"Ji told me about your… concerns. About us possibly having a baby…"

"It's not that I don't want that for you," Lauren rushed out, worried her step-mother… new mother… Kate wouldn't think Lauren was being selfish or trying to take control. "I want whatever makes you and Ji happy, obviously. It's just… _I_ don't want that."

"I get it," Kate smiled and put her hand on Lauren's shoulder, "You've been away from your family for a really long time. You're still adjusting to all of this and it's weird. Throw a new baby into the mix and life can get really troubling for someone like you."

"I know you're not my mom, and Ji's not my dad, and I would never ask either of you to be those people for me," Lauren shrugged her shoulders and looked down at the bowl of fruit in her hands. "I don't even really know who I want you to be but I know… I know I need you."

Lauren tucked her hair behind her ears and tapped her fingers nervously against the bowl, "I've got my brother and if that was all I could get, it's all I want. I want to spend more time with him and I want to get to know him and… I want… I want what Serena and Emily have, you know."

"They are special," Kate muttered.

"But having a brother and no parents… Jayden trusts Ji enough. Jayden considers him a father and… he had that, growing up. He had someone looking out for him and his best interest. Someone who… Someone who loved him no matter what he did or who he became."

"Ji made a few mistakes with Jayden," Kate said to Lauren, deciding it was best to open up, "But from what I can see now, Ji was an amazing parental figure to Jayden."

"I want that too," Lauren said. "I want to have someone in my life who'll love and care for me like that. Mom and dad are dead and… Jayden's found someone. I think I've found someone too."

"You have," Kate promised Lauren and shifted slightly in her seat so they could be eye to eye, "Last night, at dinner, it was just the six of us because that's the family I want. Of course, the other Samurai are included, but that's how I envision our family. Serena and Emily will always be my nieces, and Ji will always be… _a _father to you and Jayden. I'm not just marrying him. I'm marrying the three of you. Ji is marrying the three of us. We are that family."

"And kids?"

"Not in the plans," Kate shook her head. She opened her arms to hug Lauren, "Sweetheart, you don't have to worry about ever losing your parents again. You don't have to worry about being alone ever again. Not as long as you're a part of this family."

"I believe it," Lauren nodded, "It's just… hard. I'm not…"

"Get used to it," Kate said sternly but with a smile, "Get used to the fact that you have people who care about you. People who will drop everything they're doing when you need help. Ji is more than ready to be all you need him to be and more, and you have the most amazing brother you can ask for. And I'm here for you. I'm never going away."

"It might take time," Lauren said. "But… still… what if…"

"Lauren, even if I have a kid, or twins, or triplets, or god forbid any more than that, I will never, ever push you away. If anything, you'll be sneaking out of here to visit Jayden and complaining that Ji and I never give you any peace."

Lauren chuckled, "Live-in nanny."

"Unpaid nanny," Kate smirked. "You will never be neglected again. You're too special for that."

"Really?"

"Really. Now, are you done beating up the dummies? We have wedding plans to work on. Oh, and Jayden's got wedding plans of his own. He and Antonio are trying to find a location, and I hear you're the tiebreaker."

"I… I am?"

"So, want to play maid of honour or best man first?" Kate asked, "I guess my wedding plans can wait if you want to visit your brother."

"Thanks, Kate," Lauren gave Kate a kiss on the cheek before leaving, "I'll help you with your wedding tonight, I promise."

"I trust you," Kate told her as she left. When Lauren was gone Kate shook her head and chuckled. She cleaned up the dishes from the snack, "She really is special. How many people can say they're maid of honour and best man for two different weddings?"

-Samurai-

Football practice ended a little late for Mike, but he didn't mind. He was finding his job as assistant coach was fun, and Coach Hall was so much cooler than any boss he could imagine. He never liked the idea of having a boss or following someone else's lead. Even when he had been a Samurai, it had been rough getting used to the idea of following Jayden's every command. Though Mike learned to trust his red Ranger, he did occasional rebel.

But Coach Hall was very easy going. She trusted Mike knew what he was doing, and with the exception of giving him a few pointers on how to keep the students disciplined and how to earn their respect so they wouldn't need to be disciplined, she let him do his own thing. Mike was basically in charge of himself, which was something he loved.

After sending the boys off to the showers at the end of practice, Mike was gathering his things and stuffing them into his bag. He had learned from his time playing football in high school that the players needed to treat their equipment with respect, and so he demanded that the students he coached take care of their belongings not just in regards to football, but school supplies and at home (a tip from Coach Hall was that football extended beyond the football field). He, however, didn't follow his own orders. He crammed as much as he could into his bag and forced the zipper shut while he prayed the bag wouldn't break.

He heard footsteps coming up behind him and assumed they belonged to Serena. She was also staying after school to help out in the homework club she had started the year before. A lot of students hadn't been getting the help they needed academically because of all the bullying and the teachers giving up. Serena had started the club to give all students a chance to get a little extra help from other students. It was like a peer-tutoring program. It was also a benefit to students because if they choose to help a struggling student, Serena would sign off on volunteer hours, which they needed to earn their diploma.

She was glad to see the club had continued for a second year, and was thrilled to see it was growing.

"So, catch up with a few more friends?" Mike asked as he lifted his bag and turned around. He was surprised to see it wasn't Serena but Frankie standing behind him. It took all he had, but he did resist beating the younger boy with his heavy bag. "You…"

"You're Emily's boyfriend, right?"

"Husband, and don't you dare even think…"

"I heard you were in the school and…" Frankie rubbed the back of his neck nervously, "I've been told over and over again how what I did was wrong and stuff. I never thought I would get the chance to offer you or Emily an apology face to face. I had a letter written up and stuff but… but I think this is better."

"I don't need to hear your apology," Mike brushed shoulders with Frankie as he tried to walk out, "What you did to my wife is despicable and disgusting. I can't look at you."

"I'm really sorry," Frankie called as he watched Mike walk away, "Look, I was just a kid…"

"It's barely been a year!" Mike shouted and turned around. He dropped his bag to the floor and felt like charging Frankie. He wanted the younger boy to hurt as much as Emily had. He wanted Frankie to feel as bad about himself as Emily had. "You don't belong here. You should still be locked up, out of town, where my wife and I never, ever have to worry about seeing your disgusting face again!"

"MICHAEL!" Serena shouted. She grabbed him by the collar, grabbed his bag, and pulled him out of the gym. Mike tried to fight her off but it was no use. She dragged him that way until they were in the parking lot. Serena saw Frankie leave the school from the other end and knew it was finally safe. She shoved Mike into the car, "He's a disgusting scum, but he's also a student."

"So?"

"Would you like to lose your job and live with me until one of us dies?" Serena growled and shoved Mike again, "Because I want you out of my house as soon as possible. I want you to give my baby sister the life you promised."

"But Frankie…"

"I know," Serena groaned. "Trust me; I want to do everything you want to do. But tone it down!"

"I can't!"

"Then go back to Dr. Fletcher," Serena grabbed Mike's bag and tossed it into the back seat of the car. She climbed into the driver's seat and locked the doors behind Mike could get in. Mike struggled with the door.

"Serena…"

"Don't come home until you've seen Fletcher," Serena shook her head. "Maybe the walk will be enough time for you to cool down and process your emotions before the session."

Serena started to drive off. Mike chased after the car while he smacked his hand against the window. Serena slowly down but never stopped. She rolled down the window again, "What?"

"How do you know I won't go after Frankie? I'll cool down, I promise. Just let me…"

"If you're going to keep working with students, you need to make sure your anger is in check. Even if it's Frankie, and even if he deserves it, you're not keeping this job if you pose a risk to student safety. At the very least, if Frankie chooses to complain, you can tell Stevens you're already getting help."

"And if I don't go?"

"You'll have to tell Emily how you almost beat the shit out of a student today because you couldn't control your anger, and how you're breaking your promise to her by not getting help," Serena rolled the window back up and drove off. Mike grumbled and kicked a patch of snow with his foot.

"Stupid temper. Stupid Frankie," he grabbed his phone out of his pocket and dialled the number for Fletcher's office. He knew Fletcher always had time for the Samurai, but he wanted to make sure the doctor wasn't already with another patient. Even with his connections, squeezing in an appointment at the last minute was still a little trouble.

-Samurai-

"Can we keep one?" Riley whined as animal control took the mother and baby raccoons from the backyard. Everyone promised Riley they would find a good home, but the little girl couldn't get over the idea of adopting a pet. She found the raccoons were cute and couldn't understand the danger they posed. Kevin and Mia stuck to their original decision.

"No, Riley. Mrs. Nibbles and her babies belong outside."

"Why?"

Kevin heard this question and instantly groaned and went to speak to animal control. Mia got down on her knees and held Riley's arms.

"Raccoons aren't happy inside."

"Then why did Mrs. Nibbles want to live in our upstairs?"

"She was looking for shelter, which she'll find outside and it will be safer. If she stays in the attic, she'll ruin our house."

"How?"

"Damaging ducts, wires, insulation," Mia said and Riley titled her head to show she didn't understand. Mia chuckled, "Look Kevin's talking to the animal man who is going to make sure Mrs. Nibbles finds a better home than what we have in the attic. Everything's going to be okay for her and her babies. They're going to be happy in their new home, I promise."

"Pinky promise?"

Mia wrapped her pinky around Riley's just as Kevin came back. He scooped Riley up in his arms.

"I've got an idea," he put her up on her shoulders, "You give up on adopting the raccoon, and I'll take you to buy something very special."

"A present?"

"A present?" Mia rolled her eyes at Kevin, "You better hope that's the last time a raccoon makes a nest upstairs. We're not doing this…"

"I know," Kevin smirked and gave Mia a kiss, "It's just a small treat to get her mind off the raccoon and it'll sweeten her up a little. When I was bringing the little raccoons down, I happened to notice the calendar in the bathroom. That Valentine's Day wedding we're planning is less than a month away."

"What?" Mia's eyes widened as she ran to the kitchen. Riley's adoption process had distracted her and she had forgotten all about her approaching wedding. She planned on making it the wedding of her dreams, and though she had a lot planned out already, getting everything arranged and set up on time was going to be a lot of work.

"I hate weddings," Riley huffed and crossed her arms. She looked down at Kevin, "Do you and Mia _have_ to get married?"

"Yes, we _have _to."

"But I don't want you too. Are 'lationshit is still growing, and I don't know if I trust you with my Mia yet."

"Have you and uncle Antonio been talking… wait, relation what?"

"'lationshit. You know, when a mommy and a daddy are in love and…"

Kevin took Riley off his shoulders and set her down. He got to his knees and looked right at her, "Say that again."

Riley sighed loudly, "When a mommy and a daddy are in love, they start a 'lationshit…"

"A what?"

Riley put her hand on Kevin's shoulder, "This is why I no think you should marry my Mia."

"Because of our relation_ship_. Our relation_ship. _Shi_p."_

"You're weird," Riley said and then took Kevin's hand, "Let's go, weirdo Kevin. You promised me a present. Toys store won't wait all day."


	48. Forgive And Respect

Being dumped on the streets and practically told by Serena not to come home until he saw Dr. Fletcher turned out to be exactly what Mike needed. The walk to the therapist's office had calmed him down after his run-in with Frankie. He had a better grasp of his emotions and the conversation with Fletcher was a lot smoother.

The clock on the wall read 6:49. Mike had just managed to squeeze in an half-hour appointment after calling in last minute, and he had several more appointments lined up during the week after football practice and well into the next few weeks. He didn't think Frankie deserved his forgiveness or kindness, but he wasn't going to let Frankie ruin his life. Mike desperately wanted to keep his job at the school, and unfortunately if the principal found out Mike was a danger to one student, it was more than enough to get him fired. Mike was happy in a house with Serena, James, and Terran, but he wouldn't be happy there forever. He was working to earn himself an Emily their own place and eventually they would have enough money to start a family. If Mike got fired, his and Emily's dream would be pushed back. He had no idea how long it would take to get everything on track and for the stars to line up for him again.

"What do I do, doc?" Mike shrugged his shoulders, "Just hearing his name makes me so angry. Having to see him at school every day…?"

"This won't come easy," Fletcher said. He was very supportive of Mike, and he always had been. No matter what Mike told him or no matter how Mike behaved in his office, he always greeted the young man warmly. He insisted his office was a safe space for expression – that if Mike didn't feel like he could release his emotions inside the therapy office, there was nowhere he would be able to express himself. With a lot of help and patience from Fletcher, Mike had learned the proper way to express himself. He learned how to get his feelings out and make his thoughts known to others without putting them in danger.

But Frankie was a different matter, so Fletcher had to treat him differently. Unfortunately, there was never any quick fix, "What your coach is doing is helpful, but avoiding Frankie isn't going to fix the problem. You are going to see him in the hallways, around the school, at assemblies, and he may even attend a few footballs games."

"But I don't trust him…"

"At one point, your wife didn't trust you," Fletcher knew to tread carefully, but that was his job. Mike looked pained and lowered his head.

"I know."

"You earned her trust back. You changed yourself. Why can't Frankie?"

"Because… because he…"

"He offered you an apology," Fletcher said, "Now, I was not the one to look after Frankie, but I have seen people change. I am not telling you to forget or to err on the side of caution, but by not accepting Frankie's apology, the only person you are hurting is yourself. You need to forgive him."

"Forgive him?"

"You need to let this go. I will help you," Fletcher looked up at the clock and then pointed to the door, "Think about what I said and come back and tell me about any thoughts you've had about it."

"I need to forgive him?" Mike shook his head and got off the couch, "Seriously. I trust you, doc, I really do but… I don't know how. You didn't see Emily when she… You don't know, dude."

"I don't, I appreciate that. How about we make this deal," Fletcher got up from his chair and walked out of the room. He traded a few words with his receptionist before turning back to Mike, "You only pay if I help you. Once we're done with these sessions, you will be the judge of whether you think I deserve payment or not."

"Serious? You don't want money?" Mike stuffed his hands into his pockets.

"I'm not doing this for the money, Michael," Fletcher shook his head, "I do this because I want to help people. I want to help you. If these sessions don't help you figure out the best way of handling your emotions towards Frankie, then I don't deserve to take money from you. I'll see you in a couple of days, after you've put some thought into my words."

"Alright, cool," Mike nodded his head and shook his hands with Fletcher, "I'll try. I really appreciate this, dude."

"You're a good man, Mike. You're going to do what's right."

-Samurai-

Antonio pulled his cart down the sidewalk after a busy day at work. He hadn't been able to get back to his business. His final moments as a Samurai had been crazy and had taken all his time away from fishing. Moving on with his life, getting settled into a new home with his fiancé made his life a little more crazier. He had managed to go down to docks a few times to catch some fish, but this had been his first day back on the streets and it had been a great success.

What had made the night even better was that at the end of the day, Jayden had stopped by unexpectedly to walk home with him. As Antonio pulled the cart behind him, he held Jayden's hand and told him all about his day and some of the crazy people he met. It was both a perk and a downside to the business. Some people were crazy. It made for good stories, but they were rough at the time.

As the men walked down the street, they noticed they were approaching Mia and Kevin's house, and there was something going around in circles in the driveway. They stopped by, seeing Riley on a little pink bike and wearing a helmet with the pink Samurai Ranger design. With her little training wheels on the back of her bike, Riley was having a blast spinning in circles on the driveway. The fact that it was cold didn't seem to be affecting her (not that kids really ever felt the cold).

"Whoa, jealous," Antonio said as he set his cart down and raced up the driveway, "You got a new bike?"

"I wasn't 'llowed to keep Mrs. Nibbles," Riley stopped her bike and smiled as she recognized her uncles, "So Kevin buyed me a new bike! He's gonna teach me to ride it!"

"You're doing amazing already. I can't imagine Kevin needs to teach you much more," Antonio said and he felt Jayden squeezing his hand lovingly. Though Jayden did babysit Terran on occasion, he was still a little shy around kids. He was the youngest in the Shiba Family, and he had grown up without any brothers or sisters or friends. Antonio had been his only one until he met the Ranger team. Some of the Samurai had been young, but none of them had been kids. Riley was Jayden's first taste at being an uncle to a child. It was much different from being an uncle to a baby.

But Antonio knew exactly what to do and say to kids. He was a natural at it, just like everything else he took to. Jayden knew it was far down the road, but he was sure Antonio was going to make a great father. There would be no going wrong with a partner like Antonio by his side.

"I'm going to learn to ride without the baby wheels," Riley pointed to her training wheels. "Kevin's gonna take them off and teach me to ride on two wheels."

"_And_ you know how to swim? How old are you again?"

"Four."

"Really? Riding a bike and swimming, you sound like you're… six."

"No!" Riley giggled and shook her head. She held up four fingers, "I'm this old."

"I'm…" Antonio let go of Jayden's hand to hold up all ten of his fingers, "This old."

Riley counted his fingers and then frowned. She wasn't good at math yet but she knew how to count to ten, and she knew her uncle Antonio was much older than ten.

"Plus my toes, plus three more. What does that make?"

"A hundred!"

"Close enough," Antonio gave Riley's helmet a pat and then took Jayden's hand again, "Uncle Jay and I are going home now, Riley. Can you tell Mia and Kevin we said hi?"

"No need," Jayden pointed to the house as Kevin and Mia came out. They had been keeping an eye on Riley from the window as they discussed wedding plans and when they noticed their friends in the yard they couldn't help but come out to say hi. Riley let the grown-ups talk while she rode her bike in circles on the driveway.

Then she noticed something and stopped her bike. She looked to Mia and Kevin, and then back to Jayden and Antonio. They were holding hands. Her mother and father used to hold hands, and they had been married. Mia and Kevin were getting married, and they were holding hands.

Her uncles were holding hands. Riley was sure that meant they were getting married. It was that simple for her. But it also wasn't. Her parents had always told her that a mommy and a daddy got married. Two mommies couldn't get married, and two daddies couldn't get married. They weren't allowed to fall in love. It was bad.

"You're bad people," Riley said to her uncles. Jayden and Antonio looked to each other, feeling that was a little odd for Riley to say. She pointed to their hands to explain, "God hates you."

"Riley," Mia shook her head, "That's not nice."

"I don't have to be nice to gay people," Riley got off her bike and rolled it up to the open garage. She put it away carefully, placed her helmet gently on the seat of the bike and then ran inside the house.

Mia and Kevin were red with embarrassment. They knew Antonio and Jayden knew where they stood on the issue of gay couples. When both their friends came out, neither Kevin nor Mia had a problem with it. They had been caring and supportive. But Riley was their child. Even if it was only just the start of their time as parents, Riley's behavior was a reflection of them.

"We haven't…"

"We know," Jayden nodded his head and turned to Antonio, "Maybe it's time we go."

"We'll talk to her," Kevin promised, but Mia was already walking towards the house. "We'll straighten this out."

"Really," Antonio shrugged his shoulders, "Guys, it's cool. She's only four. She'll understand some day."

"That's not an excuse," Kevin shook his head. "How about you two swing by tomorrow. Riley will offer you an apology then."

"Don't rush it," Jayden said, "I hear she doesn't even like the idea of you and Mia getting married. Really, it's okay. She'll learn eventually."

"My daughter will respect everyone," Kevin stated firmly, "Especially her family. Riley will apologise to you tomorrow, I promise. Come by for dinner."

"Dinner sounds great," Jayden said. "See you guys tomorrow."


	49. Respecting Differences

Kevin couldn't believe his humiliation, and he sure as hell couldn't begin to understand how Jayden and Antonio felt. Though Riley was young, she never had any excuse for such a high level of disrespect. She had only been his daughter for a couple of weeks officially, but he wasn't going to let her behaviour or her old lifestyle get in the way of proper respect, dignity, morals, and values.

After apologizing to Antonio and Jayden for Riley's words, Kevin stormed in the house. Mia was already on the couch talking to Riley, but that wasn't enough for Kevin. He pulled her off the couch and pointed to the stairs.

"Goodnight, Riley."

"But it's not bedtime!"

"Goodnight, Riley," Kevin repeated. Riley smacked him in the leg as she stormed off to her room. Kevin didn't react. Riley wanted to get a rise out of him and he would never give it to her. He was in charge.

"Kevin," Mia sighed as she got up from the couch, "People have different ways of thinking. We all know that there are people out there…"

"People can believe what they want," Kevin shook his head, "but my daughter is going to show everyone respect. I don't care who they are, what they look like, or who they fall in love with. Riley's better than that."

"She was telling me some of the things her father used to say about… gays," Mia sighed. "She picked that up from somewhere. She picked it up from him. I think it's just a matter of…"

"I'll talk to her later," Kevin walked off to the kitchen to get himself a glass of water. Mia followed him with a smile on her face. She crossed her arms and leaned against the island counter.

"I know I don't really know your father," she said, "but I'm pretty sure you're doing exactly what he would have done to you."

"Do you have a problem with that?"

"None at all. Your father raised a fine man," Mia smirked, "but any doubts you had about being a good father, I think, just got washed away."

"I don't like being the bad guy," Kevin shrugged and let out another sigh. He looked to Mia, "She's going to hate me, right?"

"Four year old don't take kindly to being yelled at, or sent to their rooms, or being told no," Mia nodded her head, "You did all three."

"My weeks of hard work all gone."

"I'll support you. I don't like this behaviour from Riley either. In a few minutes, once we all a little calmer, we'll go up there and we'll talk to her. We'll make her understand why her behaviour isn't acceptable."

"You're good at this parenting thing," Kevin said. Mia gave him a smile.

"I have many talents."

-Samurai-

Emily was in the backyard with Storm, tossing a ball around. Storm wasn't big on fetch like Scruffy had been, but she loved to hunt. When Emily would toss the ball, Storm would go after it and hunt it down wherever it landed. Emily had several balls scattered around the yard. When Storm would be busy taking down one rounded prey, Emily would toss another to catch the dog's attention. It kept both of them entertained long enough for Storm to get the exercise she needed.

Mike finally came home after his appointment with Dr. Fletcher and while his dinner warmed up in the oven he stepped outside. Storm dropped her ball and ran over to greet him while Emily collected the toys and gave Mike a smile.

"Serena said you were seeing the doctor."

"He gave me a lot to think about," Mike nodded. He took Storm in his arms and sat on the garden bench. Emily joined him. Storm rolled over in his lap, begging he scratch her stomach. Mike complied, only because Storm gave him the adorable puppy face she had learned from Emily. "He says I need to work on forgiving Frankie."

"Forgiving him?" Emily shook her head, "After everything he did?"

"I didn't want to at first. I still don't think I ever can. But I had to walk home and… I think it might… I think it's something I have to try and do. I should at least give it a shot."

"You want to forgive him?"

"I'm not going to be friends with him," Mike shook his head, "And I'm definitely not letting him come around here or around you, but if I can forgive him, we can all move on. He may have actually changed."

"Frankie? Changed?"

"He came to me today. That's why Serena made me see Fletcher. He came to me to apologise. I don't know if he meant it or not but… I'm going to take a page from your book. People can be good. People can change for the better. People do deserve my trust from time to time."

"But Frankie? Mike, _I_ don't like him, and that's saying something. The only person I hate _more_ than Frankie is Dekker, and I was right about him too."

"I'm going to be smart about this," Mike wrapped one arm around Emily and held her close, "I'm going to forgive him smartly – for us. For our futures; for our baby."

Emily pulled away from Mike, "How… how did you…?"

"Wait, what?" Mike stopped scratching Storm's stomach and almost dropped the dog as he turned to Emily, "You're not?"

"I felt sick this morning," Emily whispered, "After you and Serena left for school. I… I could just be catching something but the last time I felt like this it was morning sickness and… I haven't told anyone. I haven't even taken a pregnancy test. I don't know."

"Do you want to take a test?" Mike asked. "I can go to the store after school tomorrow…"

"Then Serena's going to know."

"Don't you want her to know? She's your sister and she's done this before."

"Can't I just… can't I wait? I could have just eaten something or I could just be getting sick. It's not like… I mean, we can't just assume that every time I'm sick I'm pregnant."

"But Emily, the sooner you know…"

"I'll be smart, I promise. I just… I want a little time," Emily leaned over and picked up Storm, who after being dropped stayed by Mike and Emily's feet to growl at Mike. She hugged her dog and started to walk inside.

Mike put his head in his hands. He was really going to have to figure this all out soon. Frankie was not going to cost him or Emily their futures.

-Samurai-

Kevin decided he wasn't going to be the one to explain gay rights to Riley. He knew where he stood on the issue and he knew where he wanted his daughter to stand. This wasn't a matter of getting her to choose sides. She was still too young to understand. This was a matter of respect.

It was a sensitive and very complicated issue, and Riley was going to ask a lot of questions. Kevin was learning how to talk to his daughter, but he didn't know all the ins and outs of four year olds and communication just yet. Mia had a better understanding of how to handle these issues with kids and so she would take the lead. Kevin would be there in the room, nodding his head so Riley knew that her parents were a team.

Riley was obviously upset her parents had yelled at her. Because of the adoption progress, and because of her concussion, she had been coddled quite a bit. She hadn't gotten in trouble for a long, long time, and her new parents had barely raised their voices with her. This was a new challenge for all of them. The perfect arrangement was going to have to come to an end, and the downside of being a parent and being a part of a family was going to rear its ugly head. It had chosen to come up now.

Riley's protest was not getting in her pyjamas and sleeping on top of the blankets without her cuddly toys. Mia couldn't help but chuckle at Riley's definition of protest. Kevin rolled his eyes.

"I'm going to prefer this over the teen years, aren't I?"

"Let's just hope nature vs. nurture will take our side," Mia nodded, "Let me remind you we'll never really know what her nature is in terms of behaviour and attitude."

"If tonight's any indication, we have a handful."

"Tonight," Mia shook her head, "Try every day since I brought her home."

"SHH! I'm trying to sleep!" Riley put her pillow over her head, "Can't a girl get a proper time out?"

"Time out's over," Mia took a seat on the bed while Kevin squatted down on Riley's tea party stools and tried his best to get comfortable. Mia pulled Riley up and sat her down, "We need to talk about the way to behaved in front of your uncles."

"Daddy said…"

"I don't care what daddy said," Mia shook her head. "Uncle Jayden and Uncle Antonio are in love – yes. They are gay."

"Daddy said those are bad people. Daddy says they're going to burn in hell."

"Did daddy say why?"

"He said they were dispecting God. He said they were wrong."

"Well, regardless of how your daddy felt, Kevin and I are in charge of you now. What you said to your uncles was very, very mean. Uncle Jayden and Uncle Antonio have feelings too, and I think you hurt them."

"So?"

"What if I took away your… pink Ranger teddy," Mia took the bear from the bed and tossed it over to Kevin. Riley puffed her cheeks and her face turned red. She glared angrily at Mia.

"That's MINE!"

"What if someone told you that you weren't allowed to love your pink bear?" Mia asked. "That it was wrong."

"No! I love my teddy!" Riley tried to climb out of bed to take her bear back, but Mia grabbed her and held her on the bed. Riley's anger rose. "Pink Bear! Give me Pink Bear!"

"A lot of people don't like the Samurai Rangers, Riley. They might tell you it's wrong to like them. They might tell you that liking them is very, very bad. Some people might even say mean things to you because you like them, and because you like Pink Bear. How does that make you feel?"

"I want my bear!" Riley screamed to her father, "Give her back."

Kevin decided enough was enough. He passed the bear back to Riley who hugged it tightly to her chest and pulled away from Mia and Kevin. She curled up beside her pillow, "I love Pink Bear. And pink Ranger. You're the pink Ranger, Mia!"

"I know," Mia nodded. She took her daughter in her arms, "Uncle Jayden and Uncle Antonio feel exactly how you felt when I told you it was wrong to like Pink Bear. A lot of people say they're bad."

"But they like boys and they are boys," Riley said, "Peter said the pieces don't fit."

"Pink Bear Ranger is a girl, and you like her," Mia said. Riley looked down at her bear, hugged her, and then looked back at Mia terrified.

"I'm not allowed to have my bear?"

"Of course not," Mia shook her head, "You're allowed to love whatever and whoever you want. If anyone tries to tell you otherwise or tries to make fun of you for that, you tell me and Kevin, okay? Because that's not right."

"Okay," Riley continued to cuddle with her bear, a little scared it was going to be taken from her. Mia gave her daughter another tight hug.

"I want you treat Uncle Jayden and Uncle Antonio the same way. Just like you, they are allowed to love whoever they want. They both found someone who makes them very, very happy. Just like you and Pink Bear Ranger. When Uncle Jayden gets scared, Uncle Antonio gives him a hug. When Uncle Antonio gets scared, Uncle Jayden gives him a hug."

"Like Pink Bear Ranger gives me hugs when I have bad dreams?"

"Yeah."

Kevin knelt beside Riley's bed and looked right at her, "When you said Uncle Jayden and Uncle Antonio were bad people, you really, really hurt their feelings."

"Like when you took Pink Ranger from me?"

"Yeah," Kevin nodded. "They felt like that. If I say sorry to you, will you say sorry to them tomorrow?"

"You say sorry first," Riley turned her bear so it was facing Kevin, "Then I say sorry to them."

"I'm sorry Riley and Pink Ranger," Kevin looked his daughter and her bear in the eyes. He felt ridiculous, but he knew it needed to be done. "You are allowed to love whoever you want. I will respect that and I will never, ever take Pink Ranger away from you, Riley."

"Can I call Uncle Jayden and Uncle Antonio?" Riley looked to her parents, "I'll say sorry for hurting their feelings."

"I'll go get the phone," Mia nodded her head. She gave Riley a kiss on the cheek and then left the room. Riley sat awkwardly with her father and played with the ears on her bear. Then she spoke up.

"Kevin?"

"Yes, Riley?"

"If boys liking boys and girls liking girls is so bad, why did God make people like that?"

Kevin didn't know how to answer this question at all, and started to panic. To begin, he wasn't very religious. He had spent most of his life focused on training and being a Samurai. When he wasn't in a dojo, he was at the pool. There had been no time for churches, synagogues or mosques. Religion didn't mean much to him.

But this incident opened his eyes. Riley came from a family that did believe in God, and he wasn't about to rob his daughter of her religion. Even if he knew something about her God, or any god, he wasn't sure he would have an answer to that question, or any others she would ask. No one really did have an answer.

Until one came to mind. One he felt comfortable giving her. He took her in his arms, gave her a hug and said: "Everybody is special, Riley. You're going to meet a lot of people who are different."

"Like how you and Mia are different? And I'm different?"

"Uh… yeah. We're all different. You have to be nice to those people. You have to treat them with respect."

"What's respect?"

"Respect is all about being nice. You don't say mean things just to hurt someone. You help them when they need help. You treat others the way you want to be treated. You need to be a good girl."

"Am I a good girl?"

"You are a very good girl," Kevin nodded his head.

"Even when I said Uncle Jayden and Uncle Antonio were bad people?"

"Your words were bad. Riley, you don't have to worry about this. Mia and I are going to teach you how to be respectful."

"And you can start with that apology," Mia walked back into the room and handed Riley the phone, "Both your uncles are listening."

Riley snatched the phone from her mother's hand and pressed it to her ear, "I'm sorry I hurt your feelings."


	50. Footprints

After getting a call from Riley the night before, Antonio and Jayden felt a visit to their niece was in order. Their relationship was a tough one for a young girl to understand, but the fact that she had apologized was a huge step forward.

They knocked on the door to Mia and Kevin's house and waited for someone to answer. They knew everyone would be home. Kevin didn't teach on weekends and Mia didn't have a job yet. They didn't need to wait long, as Kevin opened the door.

"I thought you were coming for dinner?"

"We came a little early," Jayden said. Kevin had to check his watch. It wasn't even lunch time yet. Early was an understatement. Still, family was never uninvited, so he opened the door wide to let the boys in. He gave them both a smile.

"Apparently, Riley's teddy bear's been talking to her," Kevin brought the boys into the kitchen, where Riley was sitting at the table and colouring. "She decided to make you two a card."

Riley saw her uncles had stopped by and covered her paper with her hands, "No looking! It's not done!"

"We won't peek," Antonio assured his niece, "We promised. Uncle Jay and I just stopped by to see if you wanted to come to the park with us?"

"The park?" Riley's eyes lit up and she turned to Kevin, "Can I go? Can I go?"

Kevin looked a little uneasy. He had let Riley on her new bike the night before, but she had been wearing a helmet and the training wheels minimized the risk of falling over. Given she was still recovering from being punched in the head, he wasn't too sure a trip to the park was a great idea. Anything could happen. She could go down the slide a little too quickly and go shooting off, or slip on the monkey bars, or trip and hit her head, other kids could push her around, she could fall from the swings… the list went on.

"We'll take extra good care of her," Antonio promised, "No more bruises or bumps, right Riley?"

"I'll be super duper careful," Riley promised her father until Mia came down the stairs. Thinking she would have better luck with her mother she asked her, "Mia, please, please, please."

"Please, please, what?" Mia asked and then saw Antonio and Jayden in her kitchen. She gave them both a smile, "Hey, we weren't expecting you until dinner."

"We want to take Riley to the park for a couple of hours," Jayden said, "We'll be really careful with that hard head of hers."

"I have no more headaches, Mia! I feel better! Super better! Please, can I go? Please, please, please!"

"Please," Antonio begged and gave Mia and Kevin a look very similar to Riley's begging one. Mia and Kevin turned to each other to make a decision.

"Alright. As long as you three are really, very careful. Riley, if you hurt yourself again, it's going to be a lot more painful than last time."

"I promise, I'll be super careful," Riley got down from her chair and then grabbed her card from the table. She folded it and gave it to Antonio and Jayden, "I maked this for you."

"Thank you, Riley," Jayden said as he opened the card and looked inside. Riley had tried to write a message but Jayden couldn't understand a word of it. As expected, the handwriting was sloppy and Riley didn't even know how to write. "I… I think."

"You're the best uncles in the whole wide world," Kevin whispered as he walked by. He had questioned Riley's writing once already and had suffered the wrath of the angry four year old. Apparently, her penmanship and foreign words were perfection and he just didn't know how to read.

"Aw, that deserves an ice-cream," Antonio took Riley in his arms, "We'll bring her home hyped up on sugar, we promise!"

"You'll be putting her to bed tonight!" Mia called back as the uncles and Riley ran to the door to get ready for the park in the wintertime.

-Samurai-

Going to the park wasn't just for uncles and their nieces. Emily had taken a trip to the park, having decided that Storm deserved a little more space than a backyard for her games from time to time. And it was good for Emily to get out of the house. There was nothing stressful about staying home all day, but Emily didn't like being cooped up inside.

Mike had come with her, but was currently looking around for the nearest hot-dog vendor. The always hungry Mike insisted that even in the middle of winter, there was always someone ready to sell food and earn a couple of bucks from their business. Antonio went out to catch and sell fish, so there had to be someone cooking up some hot-dogs.

Emily's mysterious ill-feeling hadn't occurred that morning, but eating pancakes for breakfast had been appalling to her. Normally she liked pancakes, but she hadn't been in the mood and insisted she would vomit if even a bite passed her lips. She was a little concerned it was a pregnancy. She and Mike had fooled around on their honeymoon, and had already gotten pregnant once despite taking precautions. It wasn't ridiculous to believe it would happen again.

But she wouldn't worry about that. She would wait to see if the sickness and the food aversions would go away on their own, without leaving a baby-bump behind. She would take precautions, but there was a chance this was just the flu or a cold or her body's physical responses to knowing Frankie was back in town. It could have been anything and Emily didn't want to jump to the worst/best case scenario right off the bat.

Storm had a habit of getting distracted, so Emily kept her on a long leash as she tossed a couple of balls around. From time to time a squirrel would come out of hiding to search for some food, and Storm would try to chase after it, but she wouldn't leave Emily's side. The leash kept her from running off and getting lost. It was a good thing for the squirrel. If Storm's way of playing with her toys was any indication, her prey would suffer a long, torturous death.

"You're a sick dog," Emily chuckled and tossed another ball passed Storm, who saw the moving toy, dropped the one she was playing with and went after it. She pounced on the ball and started to chew on it softly with her teeth. When she was done with that, she nudged the ball with her foot and jumped on top of it when it rolled too far away.

"Hey, Em!" she heard Mike's voice from behind and turned around. She kept a tight grip on Storm's leash.

"Find those hot-dogs? I told you, I don't want one! My stomach's kind of… iffy."

Mike came over, took the leash from her hand and wrapped it around the bench Emily had been sitting on. Then he reached into his jacket and pulled out a box, "I stopped by the pharmacy. The one right across the street, so I didn't go far."

Emily looked at the box and groaned, "Mike…"

"I know you want to wait, but isn't it better we get this over with now?"

"Over with? That's what…"

"You know what I mean. The waiting game. We need to get this over with now. What if you are sick and it's something serious? What if you're pregnant and we need to start getting ready. There are prenatal vitamins and diets you need to follow and…"

"We're not ready for a kid. We don't even have our own house. We're living in my sister's spare bedroom. I'll take the test soon, but not now."

"Why not? Waiting isn't going to change the outcome. Are you scared because of what happened to Carrie? The Nighlok are gone, you're perfectly healthy."

"I thought I could be sick."

Mike stuck out his tongue, "I said you could be sick _or_ pregnant. If you are pregnant, you're probably healthy."

"Probably."

"I bought a bag of cookies yesterday. Last night, I went down for a midnight snack and…"

"You know how I am with cookies," Emily muttered. "I have a weakness for sugar."

As Mike and Emily spoke, Storm chewed happily on her toy. She loved getting attention from Emily, but she had learned that sometimes the two humans needed to talk without her interfering, and took the time to gnaw on her toy without interruption. Her fun didn't last for long, though, as foot steps approached her. At first she was hesitant and got up to growl and bark, but then the stranger presented her with what smelled like her favourite treats. Anyone who offered her treats had to be nice. She started to eat the little snacks and ignored the person who was carefully walking over to her. Suddenly, she felt a sharp pain in her head and barely had to time let out a yelp before a big, strong hand wrapped around her snout, unclipped her collar from her leash and tucked her inside a jacket before whisking her drowsy and barely conscious body away.

"I want an answer, Emily, and I don't want us fighting over this like last time," Mike continued his conversation with Emily, not aware of Storm's plight, confident she was safe wherever she was playing because she was supposed to be clipped to the leash. "I got the test so you have it handy. I'm asking you to please consider taking it soon. This might be my baby too. I get a say."

"Then you pee on a stick," Emily said. Mike gave her a look so she rolled her eyes, "Alright, fine. Not today, but soon."

"When?"

"Soon."

"Promise?"

"Pinky promise," Emily smiled. She took the box of tests, stuffed them in her bag so Serena and James wouldn't see them and then turned to find her dog. Though Storm didn't have a habit of bringing the balls back to Emily every time, she did come by with the balls when she felt like Emily wasn't paying attention with her. Her talk with Mike had lasted long enough. Storm should have come by to see what was going on with her humans.

"Storm," Emily called her name. Storm would come when called. Emily had trained her that way. This time she didn't. Emily grabbed her crutches and started to walk around. Mike grabbed the leash, untied it from the bench and followed it to where Storm had last been.

"The leash is perfectly fine," he inspected it carefully. The clasp wasn't broken, so Storm hadn't escaped, but that made everything a little weirder. Storm was a master in many fields, bus escaping her leash was not one of them. Mike tried to look around to see if maybe Storm had left paw prints. The good thing about snow that that it made people and animals easier to track.

Storm's were all around, and then there were two more sets. One matched the bottom of Mike's boot perfectly because they belonged to him. The other set belonged to someone else.

Emily's foot was getting better. The bullet wound had healed and closed up, and she could put more and more weight on her foot as her fibula healed. She still wore the brace and gave her foot as much rest as possible, but from time to time she used it, just to speed up her walks.

But the prints in the snow didn't belong to Emily, even if she had walked on both feet. Emily was small and so were her feet. The prints in the snows were almost as big as Mike's. They walked over to the cluster of Storm's paws and then walked away. Mike followed them to the path that was cleared of snow. That was wear the footprints ended.

Emily had followed the same trail and looked up to Mike in horror, "Someone took Storm."

"Why would they? She must have just…"

"She can't Mike, and she would never leave!"

"You remember when we adopted her? You remember what the guy at the shelter said? When Shibas go chasing after something, that's all they focus on. Many owners lose their dogs that way. Hell, Jayden's that way."

"This isn't funny, Mike!" Emily punched him in the chest, "Storm wouldn't just run away! She couldn't! Her leash was perfectly fine, and it's not like she slipped out of her collar."

"We'll find her, Emily," Mike promised and he rubbed his chest with his hand, "Ow."

"Sorry…"

"Keep calling her name. If she hears your voice she'll come. "I'll try to figure out where these footsteps go. Storm was just here, she can't be too far away."

"Wait!" Emily shook her head as Mike started to leave. He turned around to look at her, "Frankie's in the city, and it's Saturday."

"So?"

"The only time we know where he is, is between eight and four on week days. Today, he could be anywhere."

"I doubt he came to the park, saw you, and only took the dog," Mike said. "Either he's gotten the message and moved on, or he would have stirred up trouble with you."

"But… but what if while we're looking he turns up? If he is still crazy, this is where he and I… kind of met."

"Do you want to come with me?"

"I want my puppy!"

"I'll call Serena and James. They'll have a look around the city, and we'll keep searching the park. Together."


	51. Some Days Are Good Some Are Bad

Jayden stood at the bottom of the slide while Antonio and Riley climbed up the play structure. Because Riley was still recovering from her concussion, her head was a little more fragile than normal. Even a small bump could cause a huge problem. Both Antonio and Jayden had promised Kevin and Mia they would keep their daughter's head safe. Doing that meant someone needed to wait at the bottom of the slide so that when Riley came down, she didn't shoot out too far, fall in the sand, and hit her head.

"Coming down!" Antonio called and Riley let out a squeal of excitement as Antonio gave her the gentle push she needed to slide down. Riley was happy. The slide was long and it was twisted. She went around in circles before she reached the bottom and was caught by her other uncle. With his help, she jumped in the sand and got ready to climb up the play structure again, where Antonio was waiting for her by the ladder. She loved to climb that specific one out of the many others because it was pink.

Jayden smiled as he watched her and Antonio climb. They never went straight for the slide. There were other games to play on the play structure, like a giant board for tic-tac-toe, a steering wheel so that with the help of imagination, the playground could turn into a spaceship, as well as other colourful attractions that drew all kids in. Antonio played with her on any game she choose, and from what Jayden could hear, his imagination was just as fun and creative as Riley's. The two got along very well, and Antonio was amazing with the little girl.

As Jayden stood by the slide and watched his fiancé and his niece, a woman came over to him. She seemed a little shy at first, but when she spoke it was with confidence.

"You're good with your daughter. I wish my boyfriend was that great with kids."

Jayden looked to the woman and shrugged his shoulders, "My fiancé's the one who is great with kids. I just try not to get in his way."

"Well, you're doing a good job with her too, from what I can see. She's got to be really lucky to have parents like you."

"Uncles," Jayden corrected her, "But, thanks. That means a lot."

The woman said nothing more. She just gave Jayden a smile and walked back to the swing sets to play with her son.

"If you're done flirting," Antonio called, "Little Miss is ready for another trip down the slide."

Jayden looked up and nodded his head, "I'm ready, Riles. Come on down!"

"Catch me! I'm going super fast!" Riley cried as gave herself a push down the slide, zipping down as quickly as she could go. Jayden caught her right before she shot off the end and took her in his arms. She gave him a big hug.

"Today's my favourite day! Thank you, Uncle Jay-Jay!"

"Ready for ice-cream now?" Jayden asked as he put Riley back on her feet. She nodded her head and started racing off.

"Last one to the car doesn't get ice-cream!"

"I want ice-cream!" Antonio threw himself down the slide and pushed Jayden out of the way as he ran after Riley, "Wait up!"

Jayden chuckled and shook his head as he watched them retreat. He felt really good about today.

-Samurai-

Mike looked to his watch sadly and then glanced around the park again. Storm had disappeared from right under his and Emily's noses and there was no sign of her anywhere. Mike wasn't sure what had happened, but the footprints did have him concerned. Storm had never broken away from her leash before, and there was nothing to suggest she had slipped out of her collar. She couldn't have run away, even if she wanted to.

Emily grabbed his hand and hugged him, "I'm ready."

It had been hours since they had started their search. Mike had suggested they head home and make a few calls to the animal shelters and the pound to see if someone had found Storm, but Emily had refused. She believed they would find Storm, and that if they left the park they would lose her forever.

But she had lost faith. The hope she had that Storm would be found had dwindled down to nothing. She was asking Mike to take her home. He took her in his arms and nodded, "It's going to be okay. Storm's a tough girl. She'll be fine until we find her."

"What if she got hit by a car? Or someone bad found her?"

"Stay positive. She's not going to let someone hurt her."

"But the car."

"Traffic's not what it used to be," Mike and Emily walked to the street to head home and he pointed around, "Look, there's about half as many cars on the road as there were before the last battle. I think the odds of Storm being hit by a car are pretty slim."

"Slim?"

"Stay positive," Mike gave Emily a comforting squeeze and they walked the rest of the way home in silence. When they got inside, Mike pulled out his cell phone so he could call Serena and James and tell them the search was over for now. Emily walked to the living room, where Terran was playing on the carpet with Kate. Ji and Lauren were in the kitchen with tea ready for the worried couple. Kate was the first to see Emily holding the empty leash and looked slightly panicked. Serena and James had called her to babysit, but they never explained why. The empty leash and no dog running to the food bowl meant Storm hadn't come home.

"What happened?"

"She's gone," Emily dropped her crutched and fell into the couch, "Storm's gone."

"How did this happen?" Kate sat on the couch and set Terran on her lap, "You're always very careful with her."

"I kept her on the leash and everything. I even brought the long leash so she had a lot of room to play."

Mike finished his call with Serena and James and sighed, "There's no sign of her in the city. They asked around everywhere and checked a few places stray dogs like to hide but nothing."

"How do you think she… got loose?" Lauren asked. She brought over tea and gave it to Emily, who refused it. She felt sick to her stomach.

"We don't know," Mike shrugged. "One minute she was there, the next she wasn't."

Ji had taken the end of the leash in his hand to inspect it, "This doesn't seem broken to me. There's no way she could have unclipped herself. Unless she slipped out of her collar."

"She's still wearing her collar. Well, as far as we know she is," Emily muttered. "It wasn't at the park either. If she did run off, her collar is still around her neck."

"If she ran off?"

"Someone could have taken her," Mike shrugged his shoulders. Ji, Kate, and Lauren all gave him a curious look.

"Right out from under your nose? Without making a sound?" Lauren asked, "Storm's not exactly quiet."

"She cried for hours when she and I had to run away," Kate nodded in agreement with Lauren. "She didn't like leaving you behind, Em, and she made sure I knew that. It's a good thing we didn't bump into anyone. With the noises she made, they would have thought I was torturing the poor dog."

"She got away somehow," Emily snapped. She leaned over, picked up her crutches and stormed off, "I just want to find her!"

She went into the bathroom and slammed the door behind her. Lauren, Kate, Ji, and Mike looked to each other nervously, unsure what to do about Storm being absent. They couldn't snap their fingers and make her appear – even though they wanted to.

"I'll start calling shelters," Mike took out his cell phone again. Ji did the same with his.

"I'll call my friends."

"Are we ever going to meet your friends?" Mike asked while the phone rang. Ji smirked playfully.

"I'm sure you already have."


	52. Family Joys

To say Riley was tired was the understatement of the year. After running around at the park and using up all her energy playing with her uncles, she barely had enough left in her to finish her ice-cream. She almost fell asleep in the cold treat, but fortunately for her, her uncle Jayden caught her in time, took her in her arms and carried her out to the car while Antonio left money behind as a tip for the waitress. Jayden tried his best not to wake Riley up as he strapped her into the car seat. Riley shifted slightly, but didn't wake up. When Jayden was sure she was safe and sound, he started to back out. Suddenly, he felt two arms wrap around his waist.

"Today was my favourite day too," Antonio whispered in Jayden's ear, repeating Riley's statement from the park. "I don't think I've ever been more in love with you than today."

"Really?" Jayden asked and then shook his head. It wasn't a crazy thought. He felt the same way. "I mean… I know why I loved today, but why did you?"

"We can be… well, a family," Antonio pointed to the sleeping Riley, "She's just a kid. She has no idea what she said but… it did kind of hurt. I got to thinking: what if a kid we adopt feels that way?"

"We're talking adoption now?" Jayden chuckled.

"We plan on getting married," Antonio shrugged his shoulders, "We'll need to talk about it at some point," he looked back at Riley and couldn't contain the bright smile on his face, "Playing with her today, spoiling her rotten, having a good time, it felt so natural. It felt, normal."

"We are normal. You're always telling me that."

"I know, I know. But this was just… Now I know we can do it. We can be good parents. When the time comes, of course. No need to rush."

"Good," Jayden chuckled as he got into the car, "Because for now, I'm happy being an uncle. As soon as I'm called daddy, it's not all going to be fun and games. Stinky diapers, crying in the middle of the night… that's going to be tough."

"We'll handle it," Antonio reached over and took Jayden's hand, "Together."

Jayden nodded his head in agreement and just as he was about to start the car he had a thought. He shook his head, "I want to get married here."

"It's not legal, Jay."

"This feels right, Antonio. This feels like it should for me. I love you more than I've loved anyone else. I feel safe with you and I don't want to run away to show the world how much you mean to me. At least, not because I'm forced too. I don't care if it takes a year, ten years, or a hundred years, I want to get married here. Or, if we do have a destination wedding, I want it to be because that's what we chose, and not because we're not allowed to get married in our home State."

"So, no planned wedding date? Just engagement until we have equal rights?"

Jayden nodded his head, "Until we have the rights we deserve," he leaned over and gave his fiancé a kiss, "Now let's get this little one home and we can continue our favourite day somewhere a little more private."

"Are you thinking what I think you're…" Antonio trailed off when he saw Jayden smirking. "Are you ready for this?"

Jayden nodded his head, "Are you?"

Antonio leaned back into his seat with a smile. He glanced over his shoulder quickly to the sleeping Riley, "You're officially my favourite."

-Samurai-

Everyone was in bed and sound asleep except for Emily. She couldn't sleep knowing Storm wasn't home. She clutched one of Storm's toys in her hand as she stood by the printer and waited for dozens of copies of _Missing Dog_ pictures to print out. She knew it was old fashion, but she had to do everything to get her beloved dog home. She had already posted for help on the internet; she had called animal shelters and animal control and gave them a very thorough description not just of Storm's physical qualities, but also of her personality. She had called shop owners, the Samurai parents who lived in town. She had done everything she could think of – both modern and old fashion. Printing out posters was just one more thing she felt she needed to do to make sure everyone would know she wanted her dog to come home safe and sound.

"Emily?"

The Earth Samurai spun around as she was startled by Lauren's voice. When they discovered the dog had gone missing and Emily was heartbroken by it, Ji, Kate, and Lauren decided to spend the night. It was part of being a family to help each other out. Kate and Emily were already family, and Ji loved all his Samurai like they were his own children. Lauren was taking the most out of this experience. It had been a while now since Emily had said they were cousins, but now that Ji and Kate were getting married it felt a lot more real.

And Lauren liked it. In only a couple of months, Lauren had gone from being alone to not only finding her brother, but gaining a mother, a father, two cousins, in-laws, and best friends. Her welcome had been a little rocky, but after that everyone took her in with open arms and they had taken care of her. The least she could do was help her cousin look for a dog.

"Lauren? What are you doing?"

"What are you doing?" Lauren asked. "It's four in the morning. Have you gone to bed?"

"Yes."

"Have you slept?"

"No. How can I? Storm's missing."

"We'll look for her in the morning, I promise."

"It is morning. Four o'clock in the _morning_."

"Are you always like this? You need to calm down, Emily. Storm's going to be okay…"

"Scruffy's dead. Carrie's dead. Scruffy didn't even live for a year and Carrie never even made it to birth. I'll be damned if I lose another one!"

"Scruffy? Your old dog, right?"

Emily nodded her head and wiped away the tears from her eyes with her sleeves, "I was in Japan when he died. Serrator sent one of his monsters to attack me and I couldn't do anything to save Carrie. I lost them both."

"We're going to find Storm. Nothing's going to happen to her," Lauren came over and wrapped her arms around Emily, "Tomorrow morning, we'll post these signs everywhere. We'll talk to everyone. Someone must have seen your dog."

"What if she's hurt? What if she needs me? She wouldn't have run away! I don't care what her nature is. I don't care if she saw a squirrel or a rabbit or a dog-treat descend from the heavens. She wouldn't run away from me. Someone took her! Someone stole her! They might hurt her…"

"Calm down…"

"I can't!"

"Breathe," Lauren gave Emily a tight hug and waiting for her breathing to calm before walking her over to the couch. They sat down and Lauren continued to hold Emily in her arms, "We'll search all day and night if we have to. Until we find her. Ji's called his friends and the shelters are on the look-out. I promise, if Storm's out there, she will come home."

"And if she's not out there?"

"Storm is out there," Lauren corrected herself, "She will come home. Just… get some sleep for now."

"What about searching day and night?"

"That'll start tomorrow," Lauren insisted. "I'll stay up in case Storm comes home. I'll wake you up the minute her little paws scratch at the door. If not, I'll brew us some coffee, and we'll drink that for weeks if we have to."

"You don't want to see me on coffee," Emily let herself giggle, but only a little bit. She was still worried for her dog.

"I wouldn't want to be in your way when you're on coffee and looking for Storm," Lauren smirked. She wrapped a blanket around herself and Emily. "I'll stay up for a couple of hours while you get some shut eye."

"Thanks, Lauren," Emily nodded and finally felt comfortable enough to fall asleep. Lauren smiled and let out a sigh.

She liked family. It wasn't easy, but it sure was worth it.


	53. A Possible Lead

The day was spent dog hunting. Serena had a back full of _Missing Dog_ posters and pinned them anywhere she thought was necessary.

"This was not how I planned on spending the weekend," she huffed as James came over with some coffee.

"I asked around the shop if anyone had seen her," he said with a shake of his head, "Nada."

"This doesn't make any sense," Serena looked down at the posters, "I feel like we've asked everyone in town. No one's seen this stupid dog."

"Even I know Storm's not stupid," James took the posters from Serena and started pinning them up. "She means a lot to your sister. You and I both know what'll happen if she doesn't come home."

"There's got to be something we're missing," Serena took a sip of her coffee and had a look around, "Storm's got her collar, so if someone's found her they would have called. Or, she would have come home by now? Right?"

"I don't know," James shrugged his shoulders. He pinned another poster to a street light and then saw a familiar face in the corner of his eye. He gave out a smile as a group of three boys approached him.

"Coach!" it was Howie, Jackson, and Grant. Howie was still at the high-school despite his age, but Jackson and Grant were now graduates. They had earned enough credits and completed enough volunteer hours to get their diplomas and had moved on.

James remembered them well. They had been some of the best football players he had ever coached. Though they needed a strong attitude adjustment, the three of them had taken the school's team all the way to the championships every year they played until the last, where Howie was removed from the team for assaulting Serena and being a bully in the school.

It seemed Howie had learned his lesson. Serena spoke highly of him since she had returned to work. He was a good student who attended all his classes, did all his assignments and was even showing up to her homework club to get some help, but would volunteer to help out other students who were also struggling. It had taken someone really beating some sense into him, but it paid off. Howie was a better person, and the smile on his face proved he was also much happier. He took James' hand and shook it firmly.

"Howie, boys, how are you?" James smiled at the three of them.

"We're good," Howie answered for himself and his friends. "We were just on our way to the park for a game of catch. Assistant Coach this year isn't messing around so I've got to stay in shape."

Serena smirked. Howie's attitude adjustment had earned him his place back on the team which meant he was one of Mike's players. Serena had seen the end of some of the practices when she came to get Mike after classes so they could drive home together. Though Mike had always been known as the laziest of all the Samurai, he took coaching seriously. He was trying his best with the struggling cheerleaders and since taking on that role he had taught them all a couple of moves that had impressed Coach Hall. When it came to the football team, Mike knew exactly what he was doing. Football practice for him was a lot like Samurai training: it took strength, courage, discipline, and a whole lot of motivation.

"He's a tough one," Serena nodded. Howie gave her a look.

"It's was kind of awkward at first… you know, when I learned I was going to be coached by the husband of the girl who beat me up and broke my nose, but it's really working out."

Beside Howie, Grant let out a laugh and playfully nudged his friend to tease him about the incident. Grant and Jackson had both been with Howie when Emily had unleashed her inner monster. Now that everything had blown over, and it had all worked out for the best, it seemed it was a bit of a teasing excuse for the boys. Howie gently shoved his friend and rolled his eyes.

"Dude, she was tough. You have no idea."

"She's like two feet tall… uh, no offence, Serena."

Serena shook her head. Howie and Grant's teasing was all good-natured and it was great to see they had learned to poke fun at each other without crossing any lines. Jackson, however, didn't seem to want to join in, nor did he seem to happy that the nose-breaking incident had come up. She scoffed and crossed his arms across his chest. He was also staring at the posters in James' hand and the one on the street light. Serena followed his gaze and it reminded her of why she was out walking the streets on an early Sunday morning. She took a poster from James and handed it to the boys.

"Speaking of my little monster, she lost her dog at the park yesterday. You guys are headed that way, so maybe you can keep an eye out for her."

"Storm?" Grant read the dog's name on the paper. "Alright, we can try. What's she look like?"

"This," Howie teasingly held up the picture to show Grant, "Dude, it's a dog, for starters."

"I mean, what should we be looking for… shut up," Grant pushed the poster away to look at James and Serena.

"She's a small, red Shiba Inu. She's wearing her yellow collar, answers to Storm. She's not that fond of strangers, especially when she's scared, so don't try to pick her up or play with her. If you see her, give my sister a call and don't let her out of her sight."

"Yeah, totally," Howie promised. He folded up the paper and tucked it in his pocket. "We'll keep a look-out, right guys?"

Grant nodded his head but Jackson shrugged his shoulders. He didn't say a word. James looked to him.

"You okay, Jackson?"

The boy nodded his head, "Yeah. I'll look for the dog."

"Thanks, guys," Serena gave them a smile and then took the posters back from James, "We've got to keep looking."

-Samurai-

In another part of the city, Mike was passing out the posters to people rather than pin them up. He thought more attention would be drawn to the posters and they would be more effective if people actually stopped to take a look. He didn't care about disturbing their day or interrupting conversations for phone calls. Emily loved Storm, and Mike had grown attached to the tiniest Shiba as well. He wanted her safe return and he wanted it quickly.

He saw a teenager and a dog sitting on a bench outside a pharmacy and thought there was no one better to ask than a pet owner for help with a missing dog. The teenager was playing around with his big dog, rubbing his neck and hiding toys behind his back. He kept his head down to watch the dog, so Mike didn't get a look at his face until he tapped him on the shoulder and the teenager looked up.

Mike felt his anger rising. It was Frankie. He was about to excuse himself before he let his rage get the better of him but he caught a glance at the poster in his hands. There was a picture of Storm with Emily. Putting the photo of the dog, as well as a description made it easier for people to recognize her. In this case, it reminded Mike of what he was supposed to do. He hated Frankie with every bone in his body (or more if it was possible), but he loved Emily. He loved Emily more than he hated Frankie. Spending two minutes asking Frankie to help look for a dog wasn't going to be a waste of time or effort if it got Storm home even a minute earlier.

"Mike?" Frankie looked a little alarmed to see it was Mike tapping him on the shoulder. Despite his attempt to apologize, Mike had still expressed his dislike for him, making Frankie a little uncomfortable. He was nervous Mike had come back to finish what he started. Instead, Mike dropped a paper in his lap.

"Emily and I lost our dog," he grumbled. He crossed his arms over his chest and rolled his eyes. He turned slightly away from Frankie, "Little red Shiba Inu named Storm. She'll hate you as much as I do if you see her so keep your distance and call the number on the bottom of the poster."

Frankie looked down at the poster and sighed, "Missing dog? That sucks. I don't know what I'd do without Dash."

Frankie gave his dog a pat on the head. Dash responded by nestling into Frankie, loving him like only a dog could. Mike rolled his eyes. Only a dog could love Frankie after what he had done.

"Just keep your eyes peeled, alright. It's the least you could do for Emily."

"Yeah. No… I… I mean, of course I will. I… Last seen at the park? Yesterday? I was at the park yesterday."

"You…" Mike turned to look at Frankie with a growl. The younger boy nodded his head and slid down on the bench to move away from Mike.

"Uh, yeah. I was playing fetch with Dash. I didn't see Storm or you or Emily, I promise, but I… I might be able to help you."

"Keep talking," Mike said.

Frankie reached into the bag beside the bench and pulled out a sack of dog treats. His dog's tail started to wag so Frankie offered his dog one and then pass the bag to Mike.

"I take these with me wherever I go. Dash is still in training so they come in handy. When were at the park, some guy who didn't even have a dog asked me if he could borrow some."

"You gave them to him?"

"It's just dog treats," Frankie nodded, "And I didn't want any trouble. I gave him four or five and he took off."

"Do you know who this person was?"

"Yeah," Frankie answered, "A real jerk. He used to go to my school. I don't know what he's up to now, and I never really bothered learning his name."

"Why not?"

"Everyone at school picked on me," Frankie shrugged his shoulders. "They never called me names I liked, so I never bothered learning theirs. I gave them nicknames, though. Just in my head. I never said it out loud."

"Give me a name."

"Kiss-Ass. He was friends with King Asshole, though. Best buds."

"King Asshole is?"

"He was captain of the football team. Emily beat the shit out of him. You know him."

"I do?"

"You were on the football team," Frankie nodded his head, "You hung out with him a few times."

Mike took in a deep breath, "Alright… thanks, Frankie. I guess."

"Look, if there's anything I can do to help…"

"You're done enough," Mike snapped. "Just… find Storm, don't find Storm, whatever."

Before Frankie could try to get another word in, Mike walked off. He had held in his rage as long as he could but if he stayed any longer he knew he was going to snap. He turned around the corner and saw Emily coming out of a bakery and she was looking a little green.

"Everything okay?"

"Why does the world smell so disgusting?" Emily groaned. "I think that's the first time I've gone into a bakery and was completely repulsed by all the sweets."

"You know, we can figure that out if you just pee on a stick," Mike gently reminded her. Emily shook her head.

"I can't even think about that now, Mike. Not until we know what happened to Storm. The baker says he hasn't seen her, but he let me put up a few posters in his shop… then I threw up on his table…"

"So you're not green because you love me?" Mike teased her. Emily shoved him.

"Mike, it's no time for jokes. I'm really worried…"

"Don't be," Mike assured her. He pointed around the corner. He was about to tell her about his run in with Frankie, and how he may have helped them but quickly decided against naming him. Emily had a sick stomach and a lost dog to worry about already. She didn't need to know Frankie was right around the corner, "I gave a poster to a guy on a bench. Turns out, he was at the park with his dog yesterday."

"He was?"

"He goes to the high school and apparently a former student asked him for some dog treats."

"So?"

"According to him, this guy doesn't have a dog."

"So?"

"I've tried dog treats before," Mike shook his head, "They aren't a people snack. So why would this guy want treats if he doesn't have a dog?"

"Maybe he was dog sitting or… do you really think this might mean something? Like someone took Storm on purpose? Why?"

"The kid didn't know the name of the guy, but he gave a few telling details. Apparently, the guy who asked for treats is best friends with Howie."

"Howie?"

"Unless you beat up someone else at school, yeah. This guys… my source, I guess, he showed me the dog-treats he carried around. Storm loves them too. He could have used them to shut her up long enough to get her off the leash."

"But she would whine if he picked her up. And she wouldn't go with him. And she would bark if she saw a squirrel or bird and ran off."

"I'm not saying that is what happened, but it's worth keeping in mind. I can talk to Howie tomorrow and see if he knows anything. Maybe I can even get him to bring his friends to practice so we can talk. What were their names again?"

"I only remember the names of the guys whose noses I break," Emily shrugged her shoulders. "I'm polite like that."

"Oh, good," Mike tease, "I thought you liked to break faces and run. Good to know you like to get to know your victims before you bash their noses in."

"Mike."

"You must really be planning on doing a number on my face," Mike teased before he wrapped his arms around Emily. "How many more posters do we have?"

"You don't think someone took Storm, do you? It's one thing if she ran away but if someone took her on purpose…"

"We're going to find her, I promise. When we do, it'll be like she never left."

Emily looked up at Mike and nodded her head. Just as she was about to give him a kiss she pulled away and puked against the side of the building. Mike rolled his eyes, but stood beside his wife and held her hair back.

"And when we do find her, you're taking that pregnancy test."


	54. Sick, Scared, Stressed

_Author's Note: I've finally done it. I'm not sure what motivated me, but I've opened up a Fictionpress account and published my first story there. It's short, but I'm hoping some of you will check it out. I'm Lily Hanson there too and the link to my account is on my profile._

_Anyways, on to the chapter! I hope you all enjoy!_

The search for Storm was supposed to go on day and night, but the Samurai got tired. Enough people around the city had promised to keep a look-out, Ji's friends were doing what they could, and Emil was going to have to trust that Storm would be okay on her own for another night.

Everyone met up at Serena and James' house for dinner. James cooked a simple meal of chicken fingers and French fries (too tired to do much else) while Serena cuddled with her son and read him a bedtime story before putting him down. Looking for Storm was important, but Serena valued her cuddle time with Terran and had missed him all day while on the hunt for the dog.

Emily poked at her fries. She too was tired and ready to call it a night, but the thought of her dog out in the cold and the dark alone – or possibly with someone who took her on purpose – made her stomach turn. She was tired, she was frustrated, she was scared, and she was worried. She wouldn't be sleeping again tonight.

Mike looked to Emily and wished he could do something to make her feel better. He wished he could make Storm appear out of thin air and solve this problem for her. He wished he could figure out what had happened and why Storm had run off. He wished he could give her answers and make everything work out, but all he could do was try his best.

He retold his story about meeting with Frankie, while leaving out the detail that it was Frankie he had spoken too. It wasn't important. What mattered most was that he had a lead.

"Howie's friend?" Serena asked and looked across the table at James, "We met up with Howie today. Howie and his friends."

"Grant and Jackson," James nodded his head, "Mike, are you sure this guy you talked to meant Howie? I mean, Grant and Jackson could be pretty… rough, but you're accusing them of kidnapping a dog?"

"Storm didn't just slip away from her leash. You all saw it, it wasn't broken," Mike said. He wrapped an arm around Emily and gave her a little squeeze, "This might be foul play."

"Why would someone take Storm?" Emily pushed away from Mike and stormed up stairs, "I'm going to bed."

"Emily, you know I…" Mike trailed off. Emily didn't listen to him. She walked up the stairs and slammed the bedroom door shut. There was a silence around the table. This was troubling for Emily, but she had been more on edge than anyone expected from her. They knew how much she cared for Storm. After Scruffy's and Carrie's death, Emily really took to Storm as being her baby. They couldn't blame her for getting frustrated and angered easily, but they could all feel there was more than what Emily was willing to share.

Moments after hearing the bedroom door slam there were footsteps walking down the upstairs hall into what sounded like the bathroom and then the door shut.

"Is she throwing up again?" James asked and he looked to Mike curiously. Emily had been sick before and sitting by the toilet for the better half of the morning and late afternoon. Initially he had been worried it was something she ate. If she was still throwing up, he thought it was more than that.

"You know how she takes these things," Mike muttered his response as he got up from the table, excused himself and made his way upstairs. He knocked on the bathroom door gently. He was sure Emily was going to bite his head off but he wouldn't leave her alone.

The bathroom door was locked, so Mike couldn't walk in. It took about thirty seconds before Emily let him in. In that time he heard the toilet flush and the water running from the tap. When she opened the door, she pulled him in and closed it behind him. Mike saw the pregnancy tests on the counter almost immediately and couldn't stop himself from smiling.

"You took it?"

"Storm's missing and I could be sick or pregnant or… who knows what the hell is going on with me right now," Emily was pacing back and forth. It took time to get the results and she was anxious to get some answers. "I'm feeling more and more like I did with Carrie, but it could just be stress or I could be really sick or… I can't find Storm, I don't know what to do, I can't help her, I… I just… I need some answers."

Mike nodded his head. He understood completely. Storm was his dog too and he was worried sick for her. Emily's pregnancy also had him concerned because if she was carrying a baby, the baby would be his. Especially after losing Carrie, Mike wanted the very best for his next child, and he couldn't give that to his wife or his baby if he didn't know the results of the pregnancy test.

He took Emily in his arms and held her warmly, "Tomorrow, after school, I'll talk to Howie and see if I can talk to Jackson and Grant. My source wasn't too specific with which one of Howie's friends took the dog treats, but those two are his very best friends so it's a good place to start. I promise you, Storm's coming home and she'll be safe and sound."

Emily nodded her head and nestled into Mike's arms. He gave her a kiss on the top of the head.

"I'm going to keep seeing Fletcher, too. That way I can keep my job at school. We'll make enough money to move out of here soon and get our own place – baby or not. Frankie is not going to get another chance at ruining our lives, I promise."

He gave her a loving squeeze and he smiled. She couldn't see it because she had buried her face in his chest by now, but he knew she could feel it.

"And if we are pregnant, we're going to figure this parenting thing out. Serena and James can do it; how hard can it really be?"

"And what if I'm not pregnant and I'm feeling like shit because I'm…"

"You're not sick, Em."

"But what if I'm…"

"You're not sick," Mike shook his head, gave Emily one more squeeze and then turned her around to face the counter where the tests all sat. Emily had taken them all; just to be sure the results were accurate. If it was negative, she wanted to be sure it was negative. If it was positive, she didn't want it to be because of a faulty test.

When Mike spun her around, she wasn't sure what to do. A part of her was terrified for more reason than one, but another part of her was excited. This conflict kept her paralyzed as she stared at the tests. Mike wrapped his arms around her and held her carefully. He kissed her neck.

"You're pregnant. We're having a baby."

"Can we? We're… I mean… We don't… A house… A job… school. I… I… I…"

Mike could see Emily's face in the mirror and there were tears in her eyes. He knew she was scared because he too was scared. He was happy, but he knew what a positive pregnancy test meant. He knew what pregnancy meant. Ready or not, he was going to be a father.

There was something else about her face. Something only he could notice. Emily looked very upset and scared, but there was a tug at her lips. In spite of everything, he could see she was happy.

"This is going to be amazing, Emily. It's going to be rough, but fun."

Emily gave into her smile just a little bit, and looked into the mirror where she could see Mike's smile.

"But… but Storm…"

"I'll look for her tomorrow, I promise. I'll talk to Howie and I'll find a way to talk to Jackson and Grant. I'll find Storm. While I'm gone, you can go to the doctor's. Just like last time, we want to make sure this is real and everything's okay."

"I'm going alone?"

"Maybe you can take a friend," Mike shrugged his shoulders and smirked playfully. "Despite her initial disgust, Serena was pretty excited last time. I'm sure she would…"

Emily shook her head, "I want to tell her, I really, really do but… this isn't. I don't want her to find out like this again. It has to be good news and good timing and… and…"

"Take Kate. She's your aunt, you know she'll…"

Emily shook her head again, "It has to be a good announcement. Storm's still missing and I'm not sure about this and it's all… this isn't the right time. It won't be right to tell either of our families until we can really be happy about it ourselves."

"And we can't be happy until Storm's home?"

"I'm sorry. I know she's just a dog and this is our baby but…"

"I get it, Em. I really do. That's why I thought of splitting up. Storm's just as important to us right now and we can't leave her waiting. But I wouldn't feel right letting you go to that appointment alone. What about Mia?"

"Right, I'm going to ask the happily-ever-after-lover who just recently found out she can't get pregnant to come with me to confirm the pregnancy. Do you know nothing about…?"

"Alright, bad call. Sorry," Mike moved away from Emily, "Geez, hormones acting up on top of everything else?"

"Sorry."

Mike looked to the pregnancy tests with a sigh as he tried to help Emily figure this out. If he had to, he would push off his search for Storm another day, or ask someone else to talk with Howie and his friends, but he thought it would be less suspicious if he did it. Due to having to join the football team the year before as undercover work for Serena, Mike had a bit of a relationship with Howie, Jackson, and Grant. Him wanting to talk with them felt more natural and he knew them better. If Frankie was right, and one of them did know something about Storm, he would be best as knowing if they were hiding something from him.

With Emily's sister, aunt, and best friend ruled off the list of appointment partners, Mike wasn't sure what he wanted to do. He could ask one of the guys to go with Emily. James was free during the day and could accompany Emily, but Mike didn't feel comfortable asking another guy to take his wife when there was no real reason why he couldn't go himself. Emily was his wife, and the baby was his baby.

But with that crossed off the list, Mike was left with almost no one.

"Lauren," he looked back at Emily with a smile, "Alright, she's technically going to be family but, why not?"

"What does Lauren know about…?"

"It's Lauren or me," Mike said to Emily.

She shook her head, "If you come with me, whose going to look for Storm? I… I… Lauren?"

"Why not?"

Emily shrugged, "There's no reason not to tell her, I guess. Yeah, she's going to be my cousin but… I have to take someone and she's not someone I would want to be careful with breaking this kind of news. If I have to tell someone now…"

"If we," Mike said, "Want me to get her? You can go to bed and get comfortable. I'll ask her to come up here and… I'll bring you up some…"

"Mike."

"Yeah?"

"No worried father thing. I'll get enough of that once everyone finds out," Emily rolled her eyes, "Just like last time."

"I can't help it," Mike gave Emily a kiss, "Seriously, go to bed. I'll bring you up something for the nausea, at least. You are feeling a little woozy, right?"

"When am I not?" Emily muttered. "Stupid baby."

Mike chuckled. He gave Emily another kiss and was practically bouncing as he made his way downstairs. He was going to have to calm himself down before he got to the others or they would know there was something going on behind their backs.

Emily collected the pregnancy tests and put them back in the box. She took the box with her into her room and hid it in her dresser. She didn't want Serena or James accidentally finding out (she knew personally how it sucked to have to find out). When the tests were safely hidden she got into her pyjamas and crawled into bed where she would wait for Mike and Lauren to come back.

She was still very worried about Storm, and no matter what crossed her mind, Storm was always her priority. She was also very worried about the idea of being pregnant again. After losing her last child, even without it being her fault, she had a few doubts. She worried she wasn't ready, especially given Mike had just started his new job and she wasn't doing anything to bring money home. She worried she wouldn't be a good mother or she wouldn't have herself figured out by the time the baby came. She had a lot to worry about, and plenty of reasons to be scared, but she was also a little excited. She was having a baby with the man she loved – her very best friend. There was no way she couldn't be even a little excited.


	55. Addresses

The blood tests wouldn't arrive until the following morning, so Emily had a little time to settle after the doctor's appointment. Mike and Serena were at work and Ji and Kate were out of the house to search for Storm. Emily really admired her family for sticking by her in the search for the dog and couldn't thank them enough, especially while she sat on the couch doing nothing to help.

James was at the store. The house needed groceries and he was going to talk to a few more people in hopes that maybe they knew something about Storm. Emily told him she hadn't been feeling well when she and Lauren left for the doctor's, so James took Terran with him. The two girls had the house to themselves.

"I'm not really sure what to do," Lauren handed Emily a blanket so she would be comfortable on the couch. "Last time I was around anyone who was pregnant it was mom with Jayden and I was just little so…"

"It's fine," Emily took the remote. Even though she wasn't in the mood to do anything, a little background noise would help put her mind at ease. The pregnancy had her worried and her missing dog was always a concern. Lauren walked to the kitchen to start making some tea.

"So, is this a congratulations?" she asked. Emily had told her about the pregnancy the night before, and Lauren had been a little too shocked to congratulate the couple. She also had been very unsure if congratulation was the right thing to say. They were fairly sure they were pregnant, but not positive enough for it to demand everyone be happy and celebrate. Lauren also hadn't been present when Emily had last been pregnant, and she hadn't lived through the miscarriage, but she knew about it. She knew first-hand how losing his last child had almost destroyed Mike. She didn't want to be happy for the couple if they weren't happy about their growing family.

"A little bit," Emily shrugged her shoulders. "Mike's excited. I still can't stop worrying about Storm."

"You heard the doctor. Stressing out isn't good for the baby. Storm's going to be fine. Mike's going to bring her home soon and then…?"

"You can say congratulations then."

"What do I say now?"

"That you won't breathe a word about this to anyone. Not Serena, or Mentor, or Kate, or even Jayden. When we're ready, we're going to tell them."

"Promise," Lauren sat down beside Emily on the couch, "What do we do now?"

"Doc said to take it easy but… maybe we can look for Storm a little more? I trust Mike, but I can't just sit here."

"You let me know if you need to stop for… morning sickness. But I will warn you, I'm not good around vomiting."

"You hold my hair back, and I'll hold yours," Emily chuckled.

-Samurai-

There was no football practice after school, so Mike had a little extra time to track down Storm. He found Howie at the front entrance of the school and cut him off. He tried not to be aggressive. If Frankie was right, Howie wasn't the one who had taken Storm. Mike was willing to believe both Howie and Frankie were innocent unless he had reason to believe otherwise. If he let himself think either of them were being the bad guy again, he would snap and lose it. He had too much depending on him.

"Howie, what's up?" his relationship with Howie was confusing. Not only was Howie a year older than all the other students in the school, but Mike had been a football player and temporary student with Howie and now he was a teacher. There were limits to how he could interact with Howie and Mike didn't want to cross any of them. However, he would do almost anything to get Storm home safe and sound.

"Not much," Howie shrugged and flicked his thumb over his shoulders to point to his bag, "Homework, you know. It doesn't get easier after five years in high school."

"Yeah, I'll bet," Mike nodded. "Look, dude, I wanted to talk to you about Jackson and Grant."

"I'm headed to Jackson's place right now," Howie smirked, "His parents helped him get his own apartment after that big monster battle. You know, when houses and stuff were really cheap or whatever. It's a great place to chill. Want to come by?"

"Actually, I was hoping to talk with them privately. Something's come up and I need their help. You understand, right?"

"Yeah, for sure," Howie reached into his bag and grabbed his notebook. He tore out a sheet of paper and wrote down and address for Mike, "I've got a couple of stops to make for my dad before I can go over, but I'm sure they wouldn't mind if you stopped by. You can talk to them about whatever."

"Awesome Howie, you're a big help. I'll see you at practice tomorrow?"

"You bet, coach!" Howie nodded. Mike gave a big smile and darted out of the school. Going to Jackson's place would be a big help for his search for Storm. Where else could he hide a dog if he had taken him? Mike still wasn't sure who was responsible for Storm's disappearance. He wasn't even sure he was on the right trail, but at least he would get something crossed off a long list of possibilities.

He knew where Jackson's apartment was and made it there on foot. It wasn't far from the community college, which Mike assumed was the reason why Jackson bought that specific apartment among the many that had been abandoned after the final battle. After being buzzed up to Jackson's floor, he practically flew up the stairs and made it to the door. He took a few breathes to calm himself and then knocked.

Jackson opened the door. As usual he looked a little grumpy. Jackson had never been known to wear much of a smile unless he was tormenting a poor freshman.

"Never thought I'd see you again," he muttered but wouldn't open the door wide enough for Mike to see inside, let alone let him in.

"I just want to talk about the missing dog. I'm sure you've noticed my wife's flyers and Serena and Coach Smith said they talked to you and…"

"Look, I don't know anything about that stupid dog," Jackson shrugged my shoulders, "And it's not my problem. It's not my fault you can't keep the dumb animal on a leash."

"Jackson, that dog means a lot to my wife. She really misses her and I heard…"

"I don't know where the damn dog is," Jackson tried to close the door but Mike stuck his foot in the way.

"Someone told me one of Howie's friends asked him for dog treats and didn't even have a dog. That happened the day my dog disappeared. You're Howie's friend."

"So now you think I took the dog? Look, I have no beef with your, your wife, or that stupid mutt. Get out of my building…"

"Jackson, lighten up," Grant came to the door and opened it a little wider, letting Mike inside. He shook his head, "Sorry about that. We've learned Jackson gets a little moody when the rent's due. It's like a period."

"It's not…" Jackson rolled his eyes and walked off, "Whatever guys. Just let me know when Howie's here. I'm going to order the pizza. I'm sick of waiting."

Jackson walked to the kitchen and grabbed the phone, while Grant and Mike stepped out into the hall and closed the door.

"You live here too?" Mike asked. Grant shook his head.

"I'm still staying with my 'rents. Jackson's the one who's got it good. After that monster invasion, he found a job, got his own place, and he got himself a spot at college."

"And you?"

"I just barely passed high school," Grant shook his head. "My grades weren't great. I didn't get that scholarship I was looking forward to, and I couldn't snatch up any jobs fast enough. All that's left are volunteer positions, which will cost me money."

"Sucks, dude."

"Yeah. It sucks more losing a dog, though. Any leads?"

"Just from the guy at the park."

"Who said one of Howie's friends asked for dog treats but had no dog? That's not much of a lead, you know. And Howie's got a lot of friends."

"Yeah, I get it. And look, I'm not saying you guys know what happened to the dog but I've got to follow some kind of trail. Cross people off the list, you know."

"Well, Uncle Flo may not be very helpful, but I'm willing to keep an eye out and stuff. And if you need anything else…"

"That'll be really helpful, actually," Mike took out the paper from his pocket with the address to Jackson's place, "Look, I've got somewhere else I want to check for the dog, but do you mind if tomorrow I stop by your place. I've got a bunch of theories and I remember you loved watching those cops shows."

"Yeah. You liked them too, don't you? You sure you don't want to hang out? Jackson's got a whole library of new shows just waiting to be watched."

"Naw. I've got them at home. Can I just stop by your place tomorrow?"

Grant nodded his head, took the paper and a pen from Mike and wrote down his address, "Yeah, sure dude. I'm home all afternoon."

"Awesome," when Grant was done, Mike took the paper back and stuffed it in his pocket. He let Grant go back inside Jackson's apartment while he took the stairs to leave the building. When he was outside he took the paper from his pocket and smirked.


	56. Bringing Home Good News

Mike did enjoy a good mystery from time to time. He didn't do much reading outside of graphic novels, but he had made it through an impressive number of Sherlock homes books when he had been just a boy, and he had watched a lot of television shows centered on detectives solving crimes. His video games also gave him a taste for crime solving. Many times he had to pick up on subtle clues to move up to a different level or on to a different world. It wasn't a talent he flaunted or could use to solve a real, serious crime like a murder, but it did help him find his missing dog.

He had a couple of suspects. Frankie, Howie, Grant, and Jackson were all on that list. Frankie and Howie had a reason for taking Emily's beloved dog, and if Frankie could be believed, Grant or Jackson had asked for dog treats and neither of them owned a dog of their own.

Mike had told Grant he would stop by the following day, and that was exactly what he had done. After football practice, Mike got on the first bus that took him almost to Grant's doorstep. He rang the door and waited for an answer. It was Grant who greeted him and invited Mike into his home without hesitation.

Unlike Jackson.

"Any leads work out for you?" Grant asked and Mike shook his head.

"Nothing yet. Emily's pretty worried. You know."

"Yeah. My parents are out of town so we've got the place to ourselves. Wanna work in the kitchen and I'll order something to eat? Pizza or Chinese?"

"Actually, I can't stay long," Mike said, "Don't bother. My sister in-law's going to have dinner ready for me when I get home."

"I thought you were coming here so I could help you figure this out? Losing a dog is rough stuff. Some people don't get that. Take Jackson for example. After you left, he just went on and on about how stupid you were being."

"I guess I can spend a couple of minutes," Mike shrugged his shoulders. "I've got a few more leads to check out today, and maybe a second set of eyes can tell me if they're worth following."

"Alright, awesome. The kitchen is…"

"A kitchen?" Mike shook his head, "Seriously, how many cops solve cases in their mother's kitchens. Got a basement or something? You know, like a secret hideout?"

"I…. uh… it's a bit of a mess down there. You wouldn't want to…"

"Messes don't bother me. Just ask anyone who knows me, I can make the biggest mess you'll ever see in your lifetime. Besides, I'll be cool."

"Not really," Grant shook his head, "What about my dad's office. He works for a big company so he's got all this high-tech stuff in there. We can't use it, but it'll…"

"I'm kind of into the whole underground crime-solving stuff. Is the basement here?" Mike pointed to a closed door that didn't look like it was a bathroom or closet. When he reached for the door to open it, Grant got in his way.

"You know, if mom found out I took someone to our messy basement…"

"I'm not going to say anything," Mike gently pushed Grant out of the way, "And I won't touch anything, I swear. I just like the atmosphere."

"Mike…"

Nothing Grant could say would stop Mike from getting to the basement. It was a long shot, but if crimes shows had taught him anything, than he was sure he was reaching the end of this one. Grant was a little too eager to help him out. He had been polite and kind to Serena and James, which was a little odd considering Grant, like Howie and Jackson, had been one of the toughest guys in school. He insisted on doing everything he could to help find a dog he had never met to help out a woman who had broken his best friend's nose and threatened to do the same to him.

Though Frankie was the obvious choice and kidnapping Storm would be a way to get Emily to come to him, there was too much that could go wrong. Mike hated the boy's guts, but he knew Frankie was a smart guy. Mike had made it very clear that Frankie would never get to be alone in a room with Emily. If he had considered kidnapping Emily's dog, he would have to consider the idea that when Emily came to retrieve her dog, not only would she be furious, but she would bring with her a very angry husband, and possibly her sister.

If Frankie had taken Storm to draw Emily in, he also would have made it known by now that he had her dog, or he would have tried to get in contact with Emily, claiming to have information about her missing dog. He would have tried something more than a simple comment.

Howie had made quite the turnaround from when he and Emily had last seen each other and the more time Mike spent with Howie, the more he saw the young man was genuinely trying to be good. It was easy to fall back into old habits but Howie didn't strike Mike as the kind to kidnap a dog for fun. He was on Mike's list, but at the very, very bottom.

Jackson seemed like another obvious choice. He didn't like Storm, he was grumpy, he had never been a very nice person, and he didn't want to help at all in the search for the dog – but there was no reason for him to want to help. He didn't know Emily. He didn't know Storm. Whether the dog was returned home or not had no impact on his life at all. He had moved on from high school.

Grant was the most suspicious, and in a way, the least obvious. If he had taken Storm there was no reason for him to want to help – unless it was to throw Mike off his track.

Then Mike had to consider why Grant would take Storm, and the answers had been given to him by Grant himself. Mike knew all about what had happened to the football team after Serena had intervened in the school. Howie had been kicked off and the team lost their star player. They failed to make it to the playoffs and for some that cost them their only ticket into college. Grant had mentioned losing his scholarship to Mike, and he had also mentioned not having strong enough grades for any college to take him seriously. As a result, in a time of his life where he was supposed to be feeling strong and independent, he was stuck living with his parents.

Stretching from Serena to Emily to Storm wasn't very far. Grant had witnessed Emily beating the shit out of Howie. It didn't take a genius to figure out Emily and Serena were very close. Taking Storm would upset Emily, which would upset Serena. Emily had also helped Serena at the school by delivering a speech that had changed a few minds on the bullying policy, which affected the football team as well. Mike knew better than anyone that the football team's favourite pass-time was tormenting the younger students. It helped them focus better on the field. With that taken away from them, games were much harder.

Grant didn't want Mike going downstairs, but Mike got his way. He opened the door to the basement, turned on the light and went down the stairs. Grant was right behind him.

"Seriously…"

"Your parents have been out of town for a while, haven't they?" as Mike got closer to the bottom of the stairs he heard a familiar whining. Grant hadn't been lying when he said the basement was a mess. It was a maze of boxes and junk that had been left to collect dust. Mike followed the sound of the whining through the twisted maze and finally set his eyes Storm. She was chained up to a stationary bike with a bowl for food and water. Before Mike could let her go, he turned around, grabbed Grant and smashed him into a pile of boxes.

"Go near my wife or my dog or any animal ever again and you're going to be the one disappearing. Am I understood?"

"She…"

Mike let go of Grant's shirt and let him fall to the floor while he removed his jacket, removed Storm from the chain and wrapped her up warmly. Storm recognized him and realized she was safe so she nestled into his arms, trembling slightly. Mike kissed the top of her head.

"Time to go home," Mike nodded. He glared at Grant, "I meant what I said."

"Dude, c'mon, be cool. It's just a dog."

Mike scoffed, shook his head, and walked out, "One stop, Storm, just to make sure the bad man doesn't hurt anyone else again, and then we're going home to see Emily."

Storm lifted her head when she heard Emily's name and her tail started to wage. Mike chuckled and rubbed her head.

"One stop first. Don't get too excited."

-Samurai-

Mike had lied. It was two stops. He was too angered with Grant to let him get away with abducting Storm, but knew better than to take matter into his own hands. He had gone to the police station. He knew he didn't have much proof Grant had kidnapped Storm. She was safe and sound in his arms. So, just to see how far it could get him, Mike asked for the chief, and then mentioned he was a friend of the Shiba family. The chief gave him a wink and brought him to a backroom, where Mike spent half an hour talking with what he assumed was one of Ji's friends.

Because of the lack of proof, Ji's friend couldn't promise much, but Grant's name was now in the system. It was good enough for Mike whose only concern was the safety of his family. Storm was a very important part of that family.

Instead of going home after that, Mike made a stop at the pet store and bought Storm a new collar. Being in Mike's arms made Storm feel safer, and him using Emily's name got her happy and excited. Mike wanted Emily to feel just as happy and excited when he brought her home. He got a collar with a big bow attached. Putting a dog in a box was mean so this would make Storm the perfect present without going overboard. He clipped the collar on Storm when they got to the front door of the house. The little dog was wagging her tail and whining. She looked to Mike, begging he let her inside because she knew that behind that door was Emily.

"Sit," Mike had to make that command several times before Storm took a seat. She was so anxious to get home and see her mistress, but Mike wanted her return to be a real surprise. He had picked up a few treats from the pet store and used them to distract Storm as he walked into the house. He kept the door open so Storm could run right in.

"Em?" he called and saw Emily in the kitchen with James, Serena, Lauren, Ji, and Kate. He had promised her he would come home with good news, and so Mike saw a look of excitement on her face, which was quickly replaced with disappointment. She saw he was empty handed and sighed.

"It didn't pan out?"

Mike shrugged his shoulders. He didn't want to lie, but he really wanted to see Emily's face light up.

"Did anyone call?" no one but Lauren was supposed to know Emily had gone to the doctor's for a pregnancy test so he tried to stay subtle. Emily nodded her head.

"I'm _positive _it was just a wrong number."

Mike tried to contain his excitement and nervousness. Fortunately, he didn't have long to stay on the topic of the pregnancy. Storm would finish with her treats quickly and she would come running into the house. It would be tricky but Mike planned on having excellent timing.

"I followed my lead today and went to check up on Grant. He seemed a little too eager to help me, so I thought I would take him up on his offer."

"You think Grant took Storm?" Emily asked and turned to Serena and James. They had a different theory. Grant had been so kind and helpful when they had run into him, it was hard to imagine he would have been the one to take a dog and lie about it so smoothly.

When Emily said Storm's name, the little dog heard it from outside. She recognized Emily's voice and her name, barked, and darted into the house. Emily, when she saw the dog, fell out of her seat and on her knees as Storm jumped into her arms. Storm licked Emily's face like it was made of peanut butter while Emily hugged her dog tight and looked to Mike.

"You found her?"

"I took care of everything," Mike nodded his head. "She's a little on edge. Grant didn't exactly give her the TLC she's used to getting from you, but she was excited to come home so…"

Mike was interrupted when Emily jumped up and pulled him in for a kiss. He was happy to see her so happy and so wrapped his arms around her and deepened the kiss. He didn't care that Serena and James were both watching, or that Storm was caught in the middle of the kiss by being in Emily's arms.

The smell on Emily's face did bother him though. Storm had done an excellent job coating Emily's face in smelly dog drool. He pulled away, wrinkled his nose and shook his head.

"You stink."

Emily looked to Mike with a shrug. She set Storm down so the little dog could greet the others. Then she took Mike's hand.

"I'll wash up, but come with me, there's something we need to talk about?"

Mike followed Emily up the stairs and into the bathroom. She locked the door when they were inside and Mike could finally let his smile out.

"You're pregnant?"

"The doctor called this afternoon to confirm it. I am one hundred percent pregnant."

"Emily, that's…"

"Great, I know," Emily gently pushed Mike away as he came in to hug her, "But I've been thinking…"

"Carrie would want this for us. I miss her too, but this is what we've wanted since even after she died. We're going to have to just move on and…"

"I know, I know," Emily nodded, "I know we talked about this before. All of this, but… what are we going to do, Mike? Babies don't come cheap and we're having one. I… I kind of hope we do miscarry again…"

"But we're not," Mike shook his head, "The only reason you're not still pregnant with Carrie is because of Serrator. He's gone now. All the Nighlok are gone. You're perfectly healthy, we'll keep up to date with doctor's appointments, you'll take care of yourself and the baby…"

"How are we going to afford this, Mike?"

"We will. I promise you, we will. I'll work two, three jobs if I have to…"

"Then I'll never see you. I don't want that."

"We can stay here. Maybe a little longer than…"

"Really? You want to stay here? With my sister, her husband, their baby, and their possibly growing family?"

"Is Serena pregnant?"

"I hope not," Emily shook her head, "But don't you feel like we're… in the way?"

"You're free babysitting."

"James is a stay at home dad. Besides, I would be free babysitting whether I was here or in a home with them."

"Emily, we don't have another option," Mike shook his head and took her hands, "This baby is coming no matter how much money we make. I think we're going to have to swallow our pride and just…"

"Stay?"

"Serena raised Terran at the Shiba House."

"That's different, Mike. The house was bigger, she had her own room, and the Shiba House is the house of the Samurai. It technically belongs to her."

"This is really bothering you, isn't it?" Mike asked. "You really want us to get our own place."

"At least before the baby comes. But not if it means we have to work all the time to earn that kind of money. I just…"

"Are you crying?"

"No," Emily turned away from Mike and grabbed a Kleenex. "We killed Carrie. The least we can do for her little sibling is give the baby everything it deserves."

"You are crying. Hormones, Em?"

"No…"

"Look," Mike turned Emily around and gave her a smile, "Apartments might still be really cheap. That's how Jackson's parents could afford one. If we can find a cheap place, I'll be more than happy to move in there as soon as possible. I can work at the school and maybe do a few odd jobs from time to time to earn a bit more cash."

"You make it sound like we'll be fighting every month to make ends meet."

"That's what's going to happen. People are coming back. Getting a house isn't cheap anymore. Unless you want the Nighlok to come back…?"

"We'll look for apartments," Emily sighed. "It might not be perfect but… at least we'll have our own place. I've been leaning on Serena my whole life and… I don't want to do that anymore. She needs to have her life and I want mine."

"It's going to work out," Mike promised and he gave Emily a kiss. "We'll just take it a day at a time. Now, baby to the baby, when can we tell the others? I'm bursting at the seams with excitement, Em. I won't be able to hold it in for long."

"As soon as Lauren and Kate and Mentor leave, we can sit Serena and James down, swear them to secrecy and then tell them. I don't think they'll believe my vomiting is nothing for much longer anyways."

"It's a good thing I know how to clear a room," Mike smirked. He gave Emily one more kiss and then left the bathroom, "Excuse me."


	57. Sharing The News

Mike hadn't lied when he said he knew how to clear a room. By the time Emily could dry her tears and fix herself up so it didn't look like she had been crying, Lauren, Ji, and Kate had left the house.

Mike was helping with the dishes in the kitchen. Now that he knew what Emily knew, he did feel a little badly for staying with Serena and James and he decided that until he and Emily could afford a place of their own, he would help a little more with the chores. Doing the dishes and the laundry didn't seem like much, but they would go a long way to show his appreciation. He was sure Emily was thinking the same way. She spent her days at home looking into classes or for a job that would interest her long-term despite her lack of education. She knew the baby was coming and life would get really busy, but she didn't want to have to rely on Mike to bring home all the money. She wanted to know that she could contribute eventually.

Serena and James took advantage of Mike generously offering to clean the dishes. They played with Terran and were teaching him his ABCs with a new game he had gotten for his birthday. Storm had rediscovered all her toys and was letting them all know how much she had missed them during her absence. She couldn't play with enough at one time. Currently, she had two toys in her mouth and she was flicking at one with her paw.

Emily had perfect timing. Mike had just finished with the dishes. He put the last of them in the sink to dry and gave Emily a smile. She nodded in return and suddenly grew very nervous. Serena and James were her family, and she wanted to be the one to tell them, but she didn't know how to start.

"You feeling okay, Emy?" Serena asked when she saw Emily standing still and looking lost. "James says you've been kind of up and down, lately."

"Can we go to the couches?"

Serena and James looked to each other and nodded their heads. They went to the couches and sat down. Serena kept Terran on her lap while he tried to figure out how to play his game by himself. Emily took a seat on the opposite couch and Mike sat beside her. He gently held her hand. Emily gave his a squeeze and took in a deep breath.

"You know how I've been… whoa," Emily chuckled slightly as Storm decided she wanted to take part in this conversation too. With a toy in her mouth, she jumped on Emily's lap and rested. Emily stroked her dog's back with one hand and looked back at Serena and James, "You know how I've been feeling kind of sick lately?"

"Is everything okay?" Serena was understandably worried until Emily smiled and nodded her head.

"Promise you guys won't tell anyone?"

"Tell them… Emily, what's going on?" Serena asked, now impatient to hear the news as Emily and Mike were both grinning.

"We want to wait before we tell people," now Emily was doing it on purpose to tease her sister. After all, it was only fair. She had to find out Serena was pregnant with Terran from a phone call from the doctor. "You know, just to make sure everything's okay and stuff."

"Tell me now, half-pint," Serena glared at her sister somewhat teasingly. Emily shook her head.

"Pass me Terran."

"Not until you…"

"I'll tell you after you pass me Terran."

"That's what I do when I want to tell you something but I'm scared you'll get mad an punch me for it," James said to Serena. She gave him a dirty look as she lifted Terran from her lap and gave him to his aunt. Emily put Storm on Mike's lap, hugged Terran tight, and then took the toy from his hand. Terran wasn't happy and puffed his cheeks. Emily put her hand on her stomach.

"Lonely, little monkey? I get it, the grown-ups are fun to play with, but sometimes they're just too weird. How cool would it be to have a little…?"

"You're pregnant!" Serena squealed and grabbed James' hand to squeeze in excitement, almost breaking it, "Emily, are you… you're kidding? You've got to be kidding… you're pregnant? You're… I'm going to be an auntie?"

"Yeah," Emily glanced to Mike quickly with a smile before turning back to Serena, "We're pregnant."

Before Emily knew what had happened, she was forced into the back of the couch as Serena tackle-hugged her excitedly. Emily didn't even know what had happened to Terran. Fortunately, Mike had been fast enough to snatch his nephew from his wife's lap before his mother and aunt could crush him.

James came over to give Mike a hug, "Congrats, Mike. Let's just hope this one goes a little smoother than the last."

"It will," Mike nodded his head. "And James, we really appreciate you guys letting us stay here. We won't be in your way for much longer though…"

"Why?" James asked with a look of utter confusion on his face, "What's happening?"

"We don't want to impose," Mike said, "Emily and I are kind of looking forward to getting a place to ourselves and we know we're crowding you and Serena and…"

"No way. Mike, this house is big enough for all of us for no matter how long you guys need to stay. There's no way you have enough money to afford a place of your own even with prices so low. You're more than welcome to stay."

"But…"

"I insist," James said. "Don't feel pressured to move out. Having Emily at home with me during the day keeps me sane, and Serena kind of likes carpooling with you to work. Leave when you're ready, but this house is your home too."

"Thanks," Mike smiled. He gave James another hug before turning to Serena, "You're suffocating my wife and child."

"I don't care," Serena couldn't let go of Emily, she was so happy, "I love you, baby sister, and I love this little baby," Serena started to speak to Emily's stomach, "You hurry up and come out. Auntie Serena's going to spoil you rotten."

"Um, I'd like to keep the baby in there for a little while," Emily muttered, "I'm not quite ready for the watermelon to come out of… there. In fact, I might never be. Mike…"

"You'll be fine," Serena assured her sister, "It's not like you'll be tortured into labour and then have to have a natural birth in the middle of winter in the freezing cold snow. Right, Terran?"

Terran giggled when he heard his name. Serena gave him a playful glare and turned back to Emily. She grabbed her sister and pulled her off the couch and up the stairs.

"I know it's early, but I still have a bunch of Terran's old clothes you can have. We'll keep the boys clothes in case it's a boy, but you can pick out some of the more gender neutral clothes that you want to keep and then maybe we can go shopping for more! My niece or nephew deserves brand new clothes!"

"_Help me!"_ Emily mouthed to Mike and James as she was pulled from the room.


	58. Scheduling Conflicts

Riley wasn't sure what a flower girl was, but it sounded like a lot of trouble, and it was the reason she was sitting by herself in a change room while Mia stood outside talking to another lady and picking out dresses for Riley to try on. Riley loved playing dress-up as much as any girl, but her patience had worn out. She wanted to go home.

The door opened and Mia walked in. She was carrying an armful of dresses for Riley. Some were so puffy they took up most of the space in the small change room. Riley let out a sigh so Mia would know she was bored.

"Just try on a few more. I promise we'll find the right one soon."

"Do I have to be the flower girl?" Riley stood up and held her hands in the air so Mia could put the dress over her head. "It sounds really boring."

"You're my daughter, Riley. I want you to be a part of my wedding," it wasn't the wedding Mia always had in mind. Her dreams involved getting married and then starting a family, but she had learned to adapt.

"Your wedding?" Riley had picked up on a few of the tricks and slips of the wedding talk. She wasn't exactly thrilled with all the wedding plans, but from time to time her parents started to bicker over the silliest things. One night, Mia and Kevin had stopped talking to each other until after Riley went to bed because of the dinner options. Riley wasn't sure who had won that fight, but it had been more entertaining than her bedtime story.

She also picked up on the few things that bothered Kevin. The most prominent was Mia mistakenly referring to the weddings as _her_ wedding. Riley noticed Kevin always corrected Mia when she made that slip-up and so she started to do it too.

"Our wedding," Mia sighed. It meant nothing. She had spent so long without her prince charming that there was no _"our wedding". _Kevin was very important to her, and she wanted him to have his special night too, but old habits did die hard.

"I want to stay with Auntie Lauren when you get married."

"Auntie Lauren is invited to the wedding," Mia zipped up the dress and smiled brightly at her daughter, "You look…"

"Adorable, I know," Riley rolled her eyes, "Just get it off. Something's riding up my bum. Can I stay with Uncle Jay Jay and Uncle Tonio?"

"They're coming to the wedding too."

"Who isn't?"

"No one you know," Mia picked out another dress, "Alright, this one is pink. Does that give it any points?"

"One point. But I still no want to be the flower girl. Why do you and Kevin have to get married?"

"We love each other, Riley. We want to celebrate that love with all our friends and family. Especially our daughter."

"That's me," Riley groaned, "but…"

"Arms up."

"Why are you getting married on Balentime's Day?"

"It's romantic. You'll understand when you're older."

"But…"

"I know it seems like a chore now, but the wedding's going to be very fun. We're going to have a party, and there will be games. You'll see your cousin Terran, all your aunts and uncles, and even your grandparents. And there will be cake!"

"Birthday cake?" Riley's eyes lit up. "You getted me birthday cake?"

"Wedding cake, but it's basically just birthday cake, only a lot fancier."

"Cake for you and Kevin?"

Mia straightened out Riley's dress and then knelt before her daughter. She placed her hands on Riley's arms, "I know you don't get it. I know this is very boring to you and it's taking up a lot of my time."

"All your time," Riley sighed. "You don't even know…"

"I do know, Riley."

"But I…"

"Kevin and I are always going to be your parents. I will always be your mother. This wedding isn't going to change that. It's going to make us all better."

"But Mia…"

"This dress is perfect," Mia said, "Do you like it, Riley?"

"More than the other ones," Riley sighed. She wasted no time with Mia getting the dress off and getting back into her regular clothes. Mia seemed very happy as she carefully carried the dress and took Riley's hand. She told the lady waiting outside the change room that they had found their dress and they were ready to pay. As they walked to the cash register, Riley glanced out of the store. In the mall, across the way, there was the toy store.

Riley then looked around. Every store they had visited had been littered with pink and red hearts and Riley knew what time of year it was. She turned and looked up at Mia. She tugged on her mother's hand.

"Mia, I know what I want for…"

"Sobo's great with hair. Why don't we stop by her place and we can think of what to do with your little curls?" Mia suggested to Riley as she laid the dress on the counter to pay. "I know I'm going to be the bride, but you're going to be so adorable, all eyes might be on you, Riles."

"But, Mia…"

"And shoes, you need to pick out a pair of shoes."

Riley pulled her hand away from Mia's and crossed her arms, "Mia!"

"I'll let you decide what kind of flowers you want to hold. Anything you want, Riley, I promise."

Riley shook her head. Mia wasn't listening. Mia wasn't paying any attention at all. Riley glanced over her shoulder to the toy store and decided to take matters into her own hands.

Mia paid for the dress and thanked the lady who had helped her with a big smile. Delicately, she picked up the dress, collected her things from the counter, and looked down for Riley.

Her daughter was gone.

"Riley?" Mia's heart was pounding out of her chest. She looked around the store, hoping Riley had just gotten distracted by the glittering and sparkling dresses, but her daughter was nowhere to be found. "Riley!"

-Samurai-

"Toast?" a plate of dry toast appeared right under Emily's nose and she gagged. She pushed it away, shook her head, walked to the couch, curled up into a ball and groaned loudly.

"I feel like shit!"

"I thought for sure toast was safe," James sighed. He tore the toast into little pieces and fed it to Terran and Storm. He turned back to Emily, "Is there anything you can stomach?"

"Just a baby. And only barely."

"What hurts?"

"It would be inappropriate to talk about it to my brother in-law. Where are Mike and Serena?"

"At school, Em. And Mike left a very detailed list of what I need to do while he's gone," James snatched up a paper from the counter and unfolded it, revealing a long length of paper with notes from James that stretched from the very top to the bottom – on both sides. "He's going to be a worrier."

"Is getting this baby out of me now on that list?"

"Nope."

"Then you suck."

"Reminding you to take your vitamins is on here, though," James said and pointed to a bottle of vitamins Mike had brought home from the pharmacy, "You want a healthy baby, don't you?"

Emily got up from the couch, took a vitamin, and stuck it up James' nose. Terran giggled and Storm turned her head to the side. Emily glared at James.

James pinched his other nostril shut and blew the vitamin into his hand, "Joke's on you, because you still have to take it."

He gave the vitamin to Emily and got her a glass of water. Emily shook her head.

"Joke's still on you. I'm pregnant, so can whine, and mope, and blame you for everything, and you can't say or do otherwise because you're the in-law," Emily put the vitamin in her mouth and washed it down with water, "Ew… okay, you get to laugh a bit. That tasted like boogers."

-Samurai-

Motherhood was never smooth, but Mia never imagined herself being the mom who raced around the mall frantically searching for her missing child. Yet here she was.

She had left the dress shop in a panic, searched all the nearby stores, asked as many people as she could, and finally asked someone who had seen a girl matching Riley's description. This little girl had gone to the toy store, so Mia did the same.

She found Riley in one of the aisle, climbing up the shelves by herself to reach a toy. Mia dropped her dress and her purse and raced to Riley, snatching her up before she could fall.

"What the hell were you thinking?" Mia hugged her daughter tight, "Riley, we talked about this! No running off."

Now higher because she was in Mia's arms, Riley could reach the toy she wanted with ease. She plucked a Cinderella Barbie from the hook and showed it to Mia.

"I want this!"

"Riley, I told you, we're not shopping for toys today."

"But Mia…!"

"No. You're not getting a toy. Especially after running off by yourself like that. Do you know how worried sick I was? What if something had happened to you?"

Mia ripped the Barbie from Riley's hands, tossed it back on the shelve and set Riley on the ground. She took her hand and pulled her away, "Honestly, Riley, we've talked about this. I know dress shopping isn't your favourite thing to do, but…" Mia felt a pull on her hand. She looked down to see Riley had stopped walking.

"Mommy always buyed me a present for my birthday! Mommy promised to let me choose my present. I want Cindyella! Not a dress or stupid wedding!"

"Riley…" Mia gulped and hated herself for having to ask this question. It hadn't crossed her mind until now, "When is your birthday?"

Riley shrugged her shoulders, "I'm no sure, but mommy said when hearts come out it's my birthday."

"Did mommy say anything else?"

"I'm the specialist Balentime's present ever."

"And you wanted Cinderella?"

Riley nodded her head. Mia took the toy from the shelf and gave it, as well as some money to Riley, "Be a big girl, Riley, and go pay for this yourself."

Riley hugged the doll to her chest and raced to the front of the store. Mia picked up the dress and her purse from the floor and it felt like she dropped her heart. She had been so busy with Riley's adoption and wedding, it had never even crossed her mind that Riley did have a birthday. Only a few weeks into motherhood and Mia had already technically forgotten her daughter's first birthday.

Worse than that, if Riley's clues were reliable even in the slightest, her birthday fell on Valentine's day – the day Mia and Kevin wanted to get married.


	59. A Little Something Extra

Storm loved the park, but for the next little while she would have to settle for the backyard instead. Emily knew the park was perfectly safe for the dog, and Grant, who had taken Storm, wasn't going to be stupid enough to try and dognap from Emily and Mike again. Still, Emily's nerves were playing up and she thought it best to keep her dog in a safe, confined space.

She sat on a bench in the cold and tossed a ball and toys around so Storm would get her exercise. Emily wanted to take part in whatever game Storm was playing in her mind, but she was exhausted. She opted to sit on the bench and toss around the toys when Storm brought them back so the dog wouldn't feel neglected.

Storm loved to cuddle. Especially since she had been brought home, she loved to nestle into Emily's arms and chest. From the very first day, Emily had always made Storm feel safe and loved and did so by holding her close. Storm grabbed her ball from the snow and raced back to Emily. She jumped up on the bench and then jumped into Emily, pushing her over and placing her paws on Emily's chest.

"Ow!" Emily cried and pushed her dog away. She gave Storm a pat on the head and tossed the ball into the yard. Storm went after it, leaving Emily alone.

A knock on the sliding door caught Emily's attention as she rubbed her chest. James stepped outside. He carried a tray with what looked to be a bowl of soup.

"Is this nausea inducing?" he asked. Emily shook her head.

"No, thank you," Emily took the tray and set it down on her lap. James sat beside her, and when Storm came back with a toy he tossed it away. Storm glared at him – offended he would throw her favourite toy away. When she was sure he got the message, she left to retrieve it. James chuckled at then dog and then turned to Emily.

"How are you feeling?"

"Is it normal to feel completely miserable?" she continued to massage her chest, "And in this much pain? Carrie wasn't this bad… for what little time I had her."

"What happened to Carrie isn't going to happen again."

"I know, I know," Emily rolled her eyes, "It's just… the timing's all off again. I think you know better than anyone else how horribly timed my pregnancy was last time, and this time things are no better."

"A little better. We're not in the middle of a war."

"But babies are a lot of work and money and… Mike's got a job, but what am I going to do? We spent a fortune on Terran before he was even born."

"If it's money you're worried about, you can stop stressing. You're more than welcome to stay here until the baby's eighteen if that's what you need. I don't mind having you around."

"You've got to know that's not what Mike and I had planned. We wanted our own house and our own lives. I can't live under my big sister's wing or roof my whole life. If I'm going to be a mom, I want to be a real mom."

"You're going to be a great mom," James placed his hand on Emily's back, "By the way, Mike just called. He's going to be a little late home tonight."

"But we have…"

"If you don't mind. I'm going to take you to your first ultrasound. We'll drop Terran and Storm off with Lauren, Ji, and Kate and we'll go."

Emily winced slightly, "Mike can't come?"

"He made me promise to get the ultrasound recorded and he'll watch it with you later. He says the cheerleaders have a performance tomorrow and he can't abandon him. You know how perfect you have to be when you first start a job. There will be more ultrasounds. More exciting ones. He promised, no matter what, he'll make it to those ones."

"He better," Emily muttered. She finished her soup and got up. She opened the door to the house and called Storm back inside. "If I have to go, he should have to too."

"You have to go no matter what," James chuckled, "You're carrying the baby."

Emily looked down at her stomach and rubbed the little bump gently, "Yeah, yeah. My adorably stupid baby."

"If you keep calling him stupid, he'll have issues."

"I spent my entire life being called stupid," Emily shrugged her shoulders. "I turned out just…" Emily stumbled as she stepped inside the house but caught herself before she fell. Immediately she turned around to James. He was trying to hold in a laugh.

"Fine?" he asked her. "Were you going to say you turned out just fine, Lady Slips-A-Lot?"

"Shut up and go get the stuff for the appointment. I'm going to go pee and then vomit."

-Samurai-

After shopping for Riley's flower girl dress and getting her an early birthday present, Mia brought the little girl home. In the car, Riley had opened her Cinderella Barbie and was excited to take the doll up to her room and show her around.

Mia walked into to the house less excited than when she had left. Kevin, who had been in the kitchen getting a head start on dinner noticed this and knew right away that there was something wrong. He turned the heat on the stove down and greeted Mia with a hug.

"If something bummed you out while wedding planning, it's going to be big. Is everything okay?"

"We have to change the date of the wedding."

Kevin groaned loudly, "Mia, you're kidding! I _just_ finished the invitations. I wanted to mail them all tomorrow so everyone invited at least gets the invitation before the wedding day. We're really pressed for time now."

"Riley dropped a bomb on me. On us. We have to change the date, Kevin."

"What did she do? Do I need to talk to her?"

Mia shook her head and walked to the kitchen table. She set Riley's dress down but didn't remove it from the bag for Kevin to see. Instead she sat down and dropped her head in her hands, "You can't talk to her about this. It's her birthday."

"Today?"

"No," Mia shook her head, "But you know how we thought it would be sweet and romantic to have our wedding and all our anniversaries on Valentine's Day?"

"Yeah…"

"How about our daughter having a birthday on Valentine's Day instead?"

"No…" Kevin groaned as he realized what this meant. He had no problem sharing his wedding day or anniversaries with Riley's birthday, but this was going to be her first birthday without her birth family, her first birthday with her new family, and for Mia and Kevin it was going to be their daughter's first birthday. They couldn't overshadow all those firsts with their own wedding, "Dammit."

"What do we do?" Mia asked and looked to Kevin hoping he would be able to come up with an answer. She had thought of this problem the entire way home and couldn't come up with a single solution. She had already compromised on her dream of having kids naturally. She didn't want to have to compromise on her dream wedding as well.

"There might be a way to do both," Kevin suggested. "We can shorten the ceremony a bit and just do what needs to be done. You'll still get everything you ever wanted it just won't be for as long as you wanted."

"As long as I get the pictures and the memories, that's fine with me," Mia said. "But what about Riley? I've always loved weddings, but I don't think she shares that passion with me. Poor kid won't want to sit through all that wedding stuff on her birthday."

"That's why, instead of wedding cake at the reception, we surprise Riley with the biggest birthday cake she's ever seen. If you're willing to forfeit having the bride and groom figures on top of the cake."

"My mini-bride?" Mia shook her head, "Nahuh, I've got a better idea."

"What do you propose?"

"We add Riley on top of the cake. Her birthday's going to be the day this family really comes together. We'll celebrate that, we'll celebrate our wedding, and we'll make sure Riley has the most amazing and unforgettable birthday ever."

Kevin gave his wife a smile, "I'll start calling everyone. If Riley's going to have a special birthday, she'll need presents and people are going to need to know it's her birthday."

-Samurai-

Mike was tired when he got home, but still very excited. Because his group of cheerleaders needed extra practice so they could perform at their best the following day, Mike had to duck out of going to the first ultrasound. The cheerleaders still weren't great, but they would do well enough to not drop of severely injure each other, which was good enough for Mike. Quickly, he pulled Serena away from her homework club and sped home. He was very eager to see the recording of the first ultrasound – confident this was going to be one of the greatest moments of his life (until the baby arrived, of course).

He and Serena weren't greeted at the door by Storm or Terran. When his mother got home, Terran always dropped whatever he was doing and race to give her a hug. Storm would usually follow, curious about who was coming into her house and if she needed to defend her family or not.

Instead, James stepped into the front hallway and he looked a little nervous, "I left them at the Shiba House. We got… news."

Mike's excitement turned into panic. News in pregnancy was never good. When everything was progressing as expected, there was no news, just confirmation. When the doctor said everything was fine and healthy, that wasn't news. News meant something had happened. News made Mike worry.

James knew the father to-be was in a panic and so he held his hands up and sighed, "It's nothing bad. The pregnancy is going well and Emily's healthy and so … well, she's on the couch resting. You can ask her yourself."

Mike didn't need to be told twice as he darted to the living room to check up on his wife and his baby. Serena dropped her bag and looked to husband worriedly.

"James, if there's something we need to know."

"We found something we weren't expecting in the ultrasound. Emily's freaked out, but it's nothing to worry about. It just… changes things a little bit."

"Like what?"

"I promise, you don't have to worry," James assured his wife and grabbed the car keys, "Let's give them some space though. We'll pick up our kid and the dog."

Serena looked worriedly over her shoulder as James gently pushed her out of the house.

In the living room, Mike found Emily asleep on the couch with James' IPad on her chest. He had asked that the first ultrasound be recorded so he didn't miss it, and assumed she had fallen asleep while watching it. He didn't want to wake his sleeping, pregnant wife but James had made him panic so he had no choice. He gently shook her awake while also taking the IPad in his hands. Emily stirred and then groaned.

"Mike?"

"Yeah?"

She jumped into his arms and hugged him tightly. Mike was glad he had taken the IPad because he was sure it would have dropped. He set it down gently and hugged his wife.

"Is everything okay?"

"See for yourself," Emily pulled away and pointed to the screen on the IPad. "It was a little blurry at first, but once you know it's there, it's kind of hard to miss."

"I can't read these things," Mike shook his head. To him, all ultrasounds were just a mass of black and white.

Emily pointed to what looked like a blob to Mike, "Well, there's baby and," she moved her finger across the screen, "apparently, this is his or her sibling."

"Wh… what?" Mike could feel his jaw slowly dropping as he tried to figure out what he was being told. He heard the words and he knew what they meant, he just wasn't sure it was really happening.

"Well, when I went with Lauren the doctor said I looked a little big," Emily lifted her shirt to show Mike her stomach, "He thought I had maybe just… you know, mixed up the dates. I believed him because we… well, you were there."

"Yeah… I… I think I was," Mike nodded and stared at the screen, "T-two babies?"

"I have been feeling really, really crappy lately. Worse than I did with Carrie. The doctor said morning sickness is sometimes worse with twins and, well, the toilet is my new best friend."

"Twins?"

Emily leaned into Mike, "You can't get scared, Mike. I'm already scared. One baby had me worried and now I have two and… what are we going to do? I can't… we can't afford twins! I can't take care of two babies at once. I… I…"

Mike wrapped his arms around Emily and held her, "I'm the good kind of scared. Well, the good kind of terrified. We're going to figure this out. But… do we… do we know what kind of twins?"

"The two for one kind," Emily gave Mike a stern look. He shook his head.

"Yeah, no I mean are they identical twins or not? If they are identical, I am going to mix them up so telling them apart will be your job."

Emily chuckled and shrugged her shoulders, "I don't know yet. The doctor said that once we know what we're having, we'll know a bit more."

"What are we having?"

Emily pointed to the ultrasound on the IPad, "They're blobs, Mike. We can't tell yet."

"But there are only two of them, right? I mean, I can get used to two, especially if they aren't identical."

"You can get used to two? I'm freaking out! Two kids at once! That's like… Terran times two, plus some because we're going to be the parents, not the aunt and uncle."

"Yeah, but the kids still won't outnumber us. You take one, I'll take the other… I think we'll get it all under control. _And_ Serena owes us, so we have a third parent on call at all times. We're going to be fine."

"But financially? What about that apartment? How are we going to afford a place big enough for twins while buying two of everything?"

"I'll take care of it. We're going to be fine. You just… focus. Those babies are coming out at some point, right?"

"Don't remind me," Emily groaned and buried her face in Mike's chest. He chuckled and wrapped her in his arms.

"Still scarred from Terran?"

Emily nodded her head, "Mike…"

"Yeah."

"No matter what I say, I want the epidural. I want as much as they can give me, as soon as I can get it. Promise?"

"Your call. We might want to consider ripping you open and just plucking them out."

"Whichever is less painful," Emily nodded.


	60. The Best Husband

It had been a long week since finding out he was going to have twins. He was excited to be a father, and he was very much looking forward to all the joys and even some of the trials of raising kids, but there were plenty of worries on his mind. They were worries he had assured Emily he could take care of. She was carrying his children for nine months and she would be giving birth to them. He wanted her to focus on taking care of herself and the twins, and unlike the last time, he didn't want her to be stressed out. Though Serrator and the Nighlok were to blame for their last miscarriage, Mike knew the stress Emily suffered did nothing to help the baby stay strong. This time, especially with two little lives growing inside of her, Mike wanted his wife at ease.

Like all mothers, though, Emily couldn't help but worry. She would fret over whether she would be a good mother, or whether she and Mike would be able to put a solid, loving roof over their children's head. She worried about the cost of raising twins, she worried about living near a good school even with a low income, and she worried about everything there was to worry about, even the trivial things. Mike knew he was going to have to show he that everything was going to be okay.

This was why he lay awake at this hour of the morning. He hadn't been able to do much for Emily because he had been spending a lot of time at the school working his butt off to secure a job and possibly get a quick raise but it was Saturday and Mike would have the day off.

Very carefully he climbed out of bed. Emily was fast asleep and Mike wouldn't do anything to wake her. Her morning sickness (which occurred at all hours of the day) was the worst case Mike had ever seen. Emily was also constantly exhausted; she had powerful aversions and cravings, and was always complaining about some part of her body being sore. Sleep was the only time she got any peace. Mike hoped the second trimester would be a little smoother for both of their sakes.

He left the room quietly and walked down the stairs to the front door. He slipped on his boots and his jacket. He and Emily were strapped for money. They had some saved up, but not enough to afford their own life, and with twins on the way the money wouldn't stretch as far. Mike was going to have to find savings wherever he could and he knew one way to cut down on baby expenses.

But first, he needed his Samuraizer. Ji didn't want the Samurai relying on their Symbol Power, but Mike had never been one to follow all the rules.

-Samurai-

Saturday was Kevin's day to sleep in. He had no classes to teach at the city pool and Saturdays were the mornings where Mia got up with Riley. His turn was on Sundays.

Except for this Saturday, where he was pulled from his sleep by something crawling into his bed. The weight wasn't enough for Mia so Kevin groaned. It was his mistake. The groan was Riley's signal that Kevin was awake so she jumped on him, pulling him from his sleep.

"I want a party!"

"It's not nine o'clock yet, Riley. Go bug Mia."

Riley rolled her eyes and tapped her father's cheek, "Kevin, the hearts are coming out! It's almost my birthday! I want a party! A Samurai Princess Party. With cake!"

"Go tell Mia and have her make a list," Kevin rolled away from Riley, "I'm sleeping."

"But Kevin! This is my super special birthday! I'm going to be five!"

"I know how old you're going to be," Kevin grumbled, "Ten more years, and I'll be waking you up on Saturdays."

"Please, Kevin! You and my Mia are getting married on my birthday, so Mia says I can have a party. We need to have a party! Get up!"

Riley started to jump on the bed, making it impossible for Kevin to fall back to sleep. He grumbled as he slowly got out of bed and took Riley in his arms, holding her upside down. Riley giggled playfully as she tried to get her father to drop her. Kevin grumbled the whole way down the stairs.

"Emily's looking pretty good right now," he dropped Riley on the couch and went to the kitchen to get himself some coffee. He saw Mia at the table with a notebook in his hand and grumbled, "It's Saturday."

"I'm sorry," Mia looked to Kevin apologetically, "I just feel really bad. She's excited for the party and it's going to be her special day. We should get to work on planning it so our families have enough notice."

"What do you have right now?" Kevin took a seat and glanced at Mia's notes, "Pink?"

"Her suggestion was that everything be pink. She wants a Pink…"

"Samurai Princess Party. She told me," Kevin sighed, "Alright, so if it's just our families, maybe the pink Ranger can make an appearance. We can ask Serena or Lauren or Emily to dress up as a princess, get some pink decorations, which shouldn't be too hard to find, make a cake and there – party's planned."

"It's our daughter's first birthday, Kev. I want to put a little more effort into it than that."

"I just planned a five year old's birthday party before having my coffee," Kevin gestured to his mug, "Do you know how much effort that takes?"

"Well, if you can do all that before coffee, let's see what you can do after coffee," Mia got up from her chair. She gave Kevin a kiss on the cheek, "I'm going to shower. Watch the kid."

"It's Saturday morning!"

-Samurai-

"You have the weirdest cravings," Serena said as she handed a plate of maple syrups and bacon tacos to Emily for breakfast, "Seriously, Emy, how did you even know this was possible?"

"Blame the babies," Emily pointed to her stomach before digging in. This morning had been sickness free and Emily was going to enjoy it. She had dreamt of the recipe for her breakfast and Serena had turned it into a reality. Fortunately, her tacos tasted as amazing as they did in her dreams.

Serena shook her head and tickled her sister's stomach. Of everyone who knew of the pregnancy, she was the most excited. The idea of her baby sister having babies did still give her an uncomfortable chill, but she was thrilled at her chance to be an auntie. It would be all of the perks of having a baby without being the mother. She loved Terran, and she loved taking care of him, but she wouldn't miss the midnight feedings, the diaper changes, and the vomit. With nieces or nephews, all those tasks could be passed on to the parents without a worry.

"I still can't believe you're having twins," James said as he cut up banana pieces for Terran, "That's two little Monsters at once. There's a little Mike and a little Emily _inside_ little Emily."

"With twins, I won't stay little for long," Emily looked at her stomach. She had been small before the pregnancy, so it hadn't surprised her when her stomach started expanding, but with twins she could expect it to get even bigger, and she would get even bigger. "On the bright side, soon I'll be able to borrow and fit in my big sister's clothes. That just means disappearing shirts and pants for you, Serena."

"We're going maternity shopping before that can happen," Serena shook her head. "And don't forget, pregnancy doesn't change your height. You may get bigger, but not any taller."

Emily stuck her tongue out. At that very moment Mike walked came up from the basement. He had been working on a project in secret all morning and hadn't let anyone into the basement to help him. He insisted he had everything under control.

He was coated in a layer of sweat and had a couple of bandages on his fingers, his arms, his legs, and one on his forehead. He also had a couple of bruises. Sawdust stuck to the sweat on his body. Whatever he had been doing in the basement had been messy and hard work. He saw the rest of his family was out of bed and walked to the kitchen. He leaned in to give Emily a kiss, but she pushed him away.

"My sense of smell is just as good as Storm's right now. You're not getting near me until you've showered twice."

"Even after I show you what I've been working on?" Mike asked before looking down at Emily's breakfast. Without questioning it, he took a piece of her breakfast taco and ate it. Serena gagged.

Emily got up and followed Mike to the basement. James, Serena, and Terran were right behind them.

"What have you been working on?" Emily asked. Mike took her hand and led her down the stairs, making sure she didn't slip on any of the tools he left lying around. Kicking a few screws aside, he got Emily to the bottom step and then covered her eyes.

"A money saving project," he told her. "Something I'm sure you're going to love."

"A money tree?"

"No… but now I'm wondering why I didn't think of that," Mike chuckled. He guided Emily around the bottom of the stairs where he had hidden his project, "It's not quite finished yet. It needs some paint and a few mommy touches but voilà!"

Mike pulled his hands away from Emily's eyes and then watched her light up as she stared at his creation. With help from his Symbol Power as well as a strong will to get the job done, Mike hadn't spent a dime building his twins what would be their crib once they arrived.

"I did a little research. Some people think it's good for twins to share a crib for the first few months. So I built us one and maybe, by the time they need their own space, Terran will have outgrown his."

Emily's face was still bright as day, and the light from her eyes started reflecting off her tears. Mike instantly started to panic, worried the tears were a bad sign. He wrapped his arms around his wife to comfort her.

"Em, the crib's perfectly safe. I can sleep in it without worry. It'll fit two, three, even four babies no problem! And once it's painted and…"

Emily shook her head, turned around in Mike's arms and cried into his chest. Mike held her tightly as he turned around and gave Serena and James a look. They shrugged, unsure what to make of Emily's reaction.

"I love it," Emily finally told Mike as she pulled away and wiped her eyes. She was still tearing up, but she couldn't hide the smile on her face as she walked over to the crib to get a closer look.

"You… you love it? You're crying, Em. You're really crying. You can be honest with me. I can take it. If you hate it…"

"No! No, Mike, I really love it… I just…" Emily used her sleeve to wipe away more tears, "I just can't stop crying. My stupid hormones can't tell happy from sad. I love it. I really love it, Mike."

"You're not just saying that? If you love it this much, I can do a little more. I'll need to do a lot more Googling, but I might be able to build a changing table and some other things for the nursery. The more money we can save, the better."

Emily didn't say another word and instead threw herself into Mike's arms to give him a tight hug and a kiss.

"You're the most amazing husband ever!"


	61. Renovations And Shopping

"So, what do you think?"

Jayden had a look around the room and he wasn't sure what to say. Lauren had called him around lunch time to excitedly announce she had found the perfect building to purchase for their dojo. Neither Lauren nor Jayden wanted to spend the rest of their lives sitting on the couch. They wanted to have something to do every day and Lauren had come up with the idea of starting up a dojo. No one was better qualified to train students than herself and Jayden, and after the disaster of the Nighlok Lauren was positive a lot of people would want to train in martial arts to defend themselves and their families. The Samurai were positive the Nighlok were never coming back, but the rest of the city couldn't be sure of that.

"The owner is selling it for really cheap," Lauren explained to her brother with a big, bright smile on her face. "This place could be ours today if we want it."

"A lot of work needs to be done," Jayden saw the paint chipping off the walls and some parts of the room and the building itself had been neglected for a while.

"I don't plan on opening up tomorrow," Lauren rolled her eyes, "but it'll be nice to have the place. I can work on it while you go to your classes and we can see how it goes from there. C'mon, Jay, we can do this!"

Antonio, who had tagged along with Jayden to see what Lauren had to offer gave a little shrug, "The place isn't that bad. I'm pretty good with my hands, and maybe James, Emily, and Mia will want to chip in with the renovations. They've got some spare time, and they'll be free help. Or cheap help, depending on how hard you want to work them."

"And Ji and Kate promised they would help with anything we needed," Lauren added. "Kate says she fixed up a barn once, so we'll have someone who knows what they're doing."

"And I've got my own business going. I may not have my own restaurant, but I do understand all that business lingo. I can help make sure you guys get started on the right foot. Dad can help too."

"You guys are making it really hard to say no," Jayden sighed. He gave his sister a smile, "Alright. I guess this place is pretty great. It's got the open space we need for a dojo and a couple of offices…"

"And a kitchen," Lauren pointed to a refrigerator and an oven in the corner of the room before turning to Antonio, "I know it's not exactly the restaurant you want, but maybe you could get your start here too. Part of training is eating properly. Maybe a couple times a week you can have cooking lessons or whatever for the students. Or you could just cook and get more people to try your fish."

Antonio wrapped his arm around Lauren's shoulder and gave her a squeeze as he smiled at Jayden, "I love your sister, Jay."

"I already said yes," Jayden chuckled, "This place will work. Get in touch with the owner, make sure you get a good deal for this place."

"Yes!" Lauren jumped up in excitement and then grabbed her cell phone to make the call.

-Samurai-

Emily grumbled as she was dragged around the store. Serena had found out that Emily and Mike were starting to worry about money and they wanted to be able to afford a place of their own. Serena wanted to do all she could to help out her little sister and so offered to go shopping for the new babies' arrival. It was still months before Emily would give birth but it was best to be prepared. Serena had started stocking up on diapers in the very early stages of her pregnancy and hadn't regretted it once. She had also bought clothes, toys, furniture, and everything else a baby needed before his arrival that way it was just the extra few things that she needed to get after he was born.

It helped to relieve some of the stress. A huge worry during pregnancy was the preparations. As a mother to be, Emily was going to be worrying constantly about whether or not she would be ready to have her kids. Knowing she had clothes, diapers, bottles, and even car seats put her ahead of the game and would calm her down.

Mike had promised to work on the bigger, more expensive pieces of furniture on his own. He had already built a crib which had been tested and could hold both Mike and James at once. It was sturdy enough to hold both babies until they needed their own space and with Mike's Forest Symbol Power, it hadn't cost them a dime. All that money saved would be money Mike and Emily could use to get their own place and get their lives started properly hopefully before the babies arrived.

"It's too bad we don't know what you're having yet," Serena said as she walked around the racks of clothes, picking out everything that she thought would look adorable on a baby. "I guess we'll stick to gender neutral for now. With twins, I would recommend knowing the genders before they come out. It'll help you feel a little more ready, and they'll be easier to shop for. Besides, it's not like you'll be ruining the surprise. You'll just be surprised a little earlier."

Emily tried to hide herself in one of the clothing racks, but Serena turned around before she could blend in. Serena was definitely the most excited for the pregnancy and it was all she talked about to Emily. The younger sister knew she was just trying to be helpful and she couldn't stop herself. Serena had been pregnant once before and it had been rough on her. Emily had also been pregnant once but the timing had been horrible and the pregnancy ended poorly. This one was much better off.

"When are you planning on telling mom and dad? Oh, and Mike's parents deserve to know. I wouldn't wait too long. They'll probably spoil you with gifts too. Between all of us, you might not have to buy anything. That'll be good. I can't wait to see mom and dad's reaction when you tell them, and when you mention its twins. Can I be there for that? Oh, breast pumps! I strongly recommend these, Emily. You know just as well as I do they come in handy! Just hide them from the guys. They play twisted games when they get bored."

Emily saw the fire alarm and imagined what would happen if she pulled it. Maybe that would shut Serena up.

"Aw! These little shoes!" Serena picked up a pair of tiny running shoes and put them on her fingers. She turned around and smiled at Emily, "Little feet go inside these shoes! Isn't that adorable?"

Serena walked the shoes across the display before setting them down and rushing back to the clothes. "Emily, it's yellow and green! Gender neutral and perfect for the little twins!"

"Serena…" Emily groaned loudly but Serena didn't hear her. Emily rubbed her stomach, "Auntie Serena's always been a little dense, guys. Do me a favour. When she babysits you, please be on your worst behaviour."

-Samurai-

"What about Shiba Siblings' Blazing Fists of Fury?" Antonio suggested as he and Jayden walked to what was now their dojo. Lauren had gotten in touch with the former owner who had been eager to sell. He, like most people who hadn't returned home to Panorama City, wanted to forget about everything in the doomed city and so selling the building hadn't been a problem. Lauren had offered a reasonable price to get things moving fast enough and was now the owner of the building, along with Jayden.

"No," Jayden shook his head and chuckled, "Look, Lauren and I are going to come up with a name. You're just going to help us with the renovations. Now, unless you have anything useful to say…"

"Shiba Dojo for Super Samurai."

"Don't say anything at all," Jayden groaned. He opened the door to what would be the dojo and saw Lauren, Ji, and Kate were inside having a look around. There were a few small paint cans on the floor with samples painted on the walls, as well as Ji's toolbox and a couple of Samuraizers. Jayden smirked, seeing the Samuraizers.

"What happened to getting used to our normal lives without powers?"

"This is just to speed things along," Ji promised, tossing Jayden his Samuraizer, "It's not cheating."

"We're picking out paint colours?" Jayden gestured to the strips on the wall, "Doesn't this place need to be fixed up first?"

"I thought I would get some inspiration."

"Gold?"

"I want nothing tacky," Lauren shook her head, rejecting Antonio's suggestion. Before Antonio could argue, the door to the dojo opened and Mike walked in. He had a look around.

"When you said renovations, I thought I would be fixing up a dump," he said, "This place isn't too bad."

"It still needs some work," Jayden insisted, "Are you here to help?"

"Yep. Just give me a job and I'll do it," Mike nodded eagerly and then spotted a hammer laying in the corner and he couldn't resist. "Ooh, demolition! I'll give it a shot. What needs to go?"

"You can talk to the others about that," Lauren said, "I'll go to the bank now so I have the money when you're done."

"Sweet!" Mike smirked. He turned to Ji and Kate with a grin, "I think we all know I'm great at demolition."

As Lauren walked off Jayden went after her. He stopped her at the door and groaned.

"We're paying Mike? Are we paying everyone?"

"Well, this is Antonio's place too," Lauren shook her head, "And Ji and Kate offered their help. Besides, I thought Mike would be more motivated if we bribed him with money."

Lauren's words were true, but bribery wasn't why Mike was helping. Lauren knew he and Emily were expecting a child and she wanted to help out however she could. She didn't know much about babies, having only been around Jayden and Terran, but she knew they were expensive to care for. Mike and Emily needed all the money they could get, so Lauren decided to chip in.

"I know we have a lot of money, Lauren, but businesses take a lot of money. We're not going to be a success right away. We do need to be careful. Mike's a friend. I don't see how it would be too much to ask him and the others to work for free and maybe thank them with lunches and a big dinner at the end of it all."

"Jayden, I know what I'm doing. Trust me, we'll be fine."

"Alright," Jayden sighed. "I'll trust you. I just don't want this to go downhill."

"It won't. I promise."

-Samurai-

"Serena, you don't have to buy all this," Emily shook her head as Serena started to walk to the check out with a cart full of clothes and baby supplies – two of everything. "Especially all at once."

"I know I don't have to," Serena gave her little sister a smile, "You were a big help with Terran. The least I can do is help you out now. We've already got most of the stuff on your list and you haven't spent a penny. You can relax a little more. With one of you and one of Mike in that tummy of yours, you're going to need all the rest you can get."

Emily let out a sigh as she looked to the cart. Serena stopped walking and turned to her sister, seeing Emily looked a little upset. She put her hand on her sister's back and smiled.

"Money or no money, you're going to be an amazing mom, you know that, right?"

"I don't feel ready for babies," Emily said. Serena let out a little laugh.

"Do you think I was ready? Or mom? I don't know what went through her mind when she was pregnant with me, but I know she wasn't ready. I also know she wasn't ready for you."

"Really?"

"We grew up with mom and dad telling us to wait for the right time," Serena said. "We needed to be married first, we needed a job, we needed to be ready. That's what we grew up believing, right?"

"Yeah. I've got the married thing, at least."

"To a good man. An amazing man. He built your kids a crib with his own hands. He's going to be a terrific father, Emily."

"Yeah, I know. He's really stepped up. I'm really lucky."

"And by the time those babies come out, you're going to be a ready as any parent can get. There's never a perfect time, Emy. You've just got to embrace it all and… enjoy it."

"What if we're not ready? What if we don't have our own place or some things just… don't work out for us?"

"Everything's going to be fine."

"Everyone always says that."

"Because it's true. You'll get your own place, and even if it takes a while, you're welcome to stay with James and I…"

"Thank you, but I don't… I don't want to rely on you anymore, Serena. I always have and…"

"I remember relying on you a few times," Serena said with a smile, "We're sisters, Emy, that's what we do. We'll be relying on each other our whole lives. When I got sick, I had to lean on you and I had to ask you to take my place as a Ranger. When I got pregnant, I was leaning on you and Mike for the longest time."

"I guess, but…"

"You're going to be an amazing mother, ready or not," Serena assured her sister while giving her a hug, "I promise, Emily, everything's going to work out. It feels like a lot right now, but it gets… we'll take it a step at a time, okay?"

"Do you really think I'm going to be an amazing mother? You're not just saying that because…"

"I wouldn't lie to you, Em."

"Yeah, you would."

"Not about this. I promise, Emily, I'm positive you're going to be great. You've always been great."

"You said amazing before."

"You've always been amazing," Serena gave Emily a kiss on the forehead before she took back the shopping cart, "Now, let me spoil my little munchkins."

"Mia!" Emily grabbed Serena's arm in a panic and then quickly let go and ducked behind a clothes rack. Serena watched her sister hide and then glanced across the store. Mia and Riley were in the shoe department and it looked like they were trying on fancy shoes for Riley – likely for the upcoming wedding.

"Emily…"

"I don't want to tell people yet," Emily whispered as she shook her head, "I especially don't want Mia finding out like this."

"Alright, well you can hide here and…"

"No!" Emily grabbed her sister and pulled her behind the rack, "Mia's not an idiot! She'll see you and the newborn stuff and she'll know something's up!"

"I found some cute stuff. We need to buy it now before someone snatches it up. I'll tell her someone at work is having a baby."

"And you're buying that much?"

"People will pay me back. I'm still the newbie, remember? Just relax."

"Mia! Look!" Riley cried and Serena and Emily looked over to see she was pointing at them, "Auntie Serena and Auntie Emy are here too! Hi!"

"I won't say a word, I swear," Serena promised and pulled Emily out of hiding. Emily made sure to zip up her sweater to hide the baby bump and tried to calm her breathing. She wasn't ready to tell everyone yet, and when she did announce the news, she didn't want it to be in the middle of a store. Mia was going to have to wait. In the meantime, Emily would have to suck it up and go along with whatever lie Serena came up with. Fortunately, Serena was a great liar.


	62. Twin Talk

The dojo didn't have much that needed to be done. A few odd jobs and some repairs only, making the renovations quick and easy. Mike, Ji, Kate, Lauren, Antonio, and Jayden were working hard too. Jayden was eager to get the place ready long before he and Lauren had it opened up so they could get a feel of what the dojo would be like for training, working, and how exactly they would get Antonio's little business to fit. He would only be working in the dojo a few days a week, but he still needed his space.

The structure of the dojo was coming close to completion by the end of the weekend. All that would be left to do would be painting, decorating, and getting the training equipment set up. The Shiba House had a ton of equipment and Samurai décor the Shiba siblings could take, but Jayden wanted some more modern pieces. With the city still divide for and against the Samurai Rangers, Jayden thought it best to make sure this was a dojo for martial arts and not a Samurai Rangers worship center. The more students they could attract, the better the business.

Mike flipped his Samuraizer shut and admired his work. With his Symbol Power he could repair old wooden beams without taking apart the roof or the walls, which came in handy to speed up the renovation process. He had used a lot of Symbol Power over the weekend but he was very proud of his work. Kate came over with a bottle of water for him.

"You're really good at this."

"I've always kind of liked working with my hands," Mike nodded. "It keeps me busy, I focus better, and it's a lot more fun. Besides, it's kind of cool making something useful out of almost nothing."

Kate gave Mike a smile and a nod of the head before walking to Ji and handing him a bottle of water. Lauren came over to Mike shortly after and handed him an envelope full of cash. Mike didn't want to seem greedy, but he was curious so he opened up the envelope to see how much was inside. He didn't expect a fortune, but he had worked hard. His jaw dropped when he saw how thick the stack of money was.

"Lauren, I…"

"Consider it the reverse of a friends and family discount," Lauren smirked. "There's your pay for working, a bit extra for doing such a great job, as well as a little gift from me for the baby."

"You might be my favourite cousin ever," Mike chuckled and pulled Lauren into a hug. "Now, if you need any more work…"

"Painting. If you've got time this week that would be a great help. You won't get that pay check again, but I wouldn't mind offering you a little something in return. What about ten bucks per hour?"

"Sounds perfect. Save a few walls for me. I'll be over after football practice," Mike gave Lauren another hug before he collected his things, said goodbye to the others in the dojo and left. He didn't mind working day and night to earn some extra money for himself and Emily, but he preferred having some time to himself at home with his wife. He wanted to be able to take care of her more than just financially. He had left his Samuraizer with J but wanted to bring home Emily a little something special to make up for working the entire weekend as well as missing the first couple appointments. Emily understood, but Mike still felt like he owed her a little more. He didn't want to spend cash on anything extra, but Lauren had given him a very generous pay for his hard work and spending a little bit of that on flowers wasn't going to set him back. He stopped by the florist, got a nice bouquet and started home.

-Samurai-

"What do you think of this cake, Riles?" Kevin asked as he showed Riley another big, fancy cake. Though the wedding did conflict with Riley's birthday, Mia and Kevin were still going ahead, only they had decided instead to sacrifice a few of the little details of their wedding to make it a combination wedding and birthday party. The cake was one of the compromises. They would still be getting a big, fancy cake to feed all their guests, but Riley got a huge say in what the cake looked and tasted like.

It was heaven to the little girl. She was allowed to try as many samples as she wanted and loved them all. Kevin tried a few as well, just to be sure the cake would taste fine for the guests and Riley didn't pick a flavour that was too childish. Fortunately, she seemed to stick to chocolate.

Riley looked up at a tall, white cake and shrugged her shoulders, "It looks boring."

"We're going to let you choose the decorations. Do you like the shape?"

"It looks like a triangle tower."

"A pyramid?"

"Yeah, but round."

Kevin chuckled at Riley's description of the cake being a rounded triangle pyramid. She wasn't wrong, but it didn't sound right. Fortunately, Kevin had learned to decipher exactly what she meant when she couldn't get her words right.

The pastry chef offered Riley another little sample of the cake. Riley didn't hesitate to shove the whole thing in her mouth.

"It's yummy!"

"You say that about all the cakes, Riles."

"They're all yummy! Can we buy them all?"

"You have to pick your favourite one. Just one."

"The circle triangle one!" Riley pointed to the cake before her with a smile, "but no white. Only pink icing!"

"Not pink…" Kevin grumbled but he didn't get a say as Riley glared angrily at him. When they had left, Mia made Kevin swear Riley got to pick the design of her choice. It was for her birthday, after all, and kids loved creative over fancy. "Alright, what if we keep the white icing, but trim the edges with pink?"

"Do you know how to draw Power Rangers?" Riley ignored her father and looked to the pastry chef. He nodded his head.

"I've done a few of them. They've turned out nicely."

"I want a super pink Ranger on my cake!"

"Please," Kevin reminded Riley of her manners before shaking his head, "Riles, this is a birthday _and_ wedding cake. You get to choose but can you pick something a little less… pink?"

"No. I want pink Ranger and kittens! Blue kittens, because Kevin likes blue."

"Perfect," Kevin grumbled. He looked to the pastry chef desperately, "Any suggestions?"

"I've got something in mind," the chef nodded his head. "It will be perfect for the wedding and the birthday. It will cost a little extra…"

"Just make it look nice," Kevin put his credit card on the counter. "You hear that, Riley, the man's got a plan."

"Just make it good," Riley stated just before taking another free sample of cake. Kevin groaned and looked to the pastry chef apologetically.

"Riley, be polite."

"Thank you!"

-Samurai-

When Mike got home he found Emily sitting on the couch. She was watching TV and going through the piles of baby clothes and supplies Serena had bought for the twins at the store. She had been a little scared at first when hearing she was going to have a baby, and then terrified when she was told it was twins. Her pregnancy had been rough until now and there was no promise of it getting much better, but Emily seemed happy at this moment. Mike hid the flowers behind his back and leaned over for a kiss.

"That's a lot of stuff."

"Serena's more excited than we are," Emily nodded. Mike gave her a smile.

"Does that mean you're excited for this?"

"I was never not excited. I was just scared and stressed on top of excited. So how's the dojo looking? Got a name for it yet?"

"No name, but the dojo's looking great. All that's left is paint, décor, and training equipment and they'll be ready to open whenever they want. I think the dojo's going to be a huge hit."

"That's great. Maybe I can get a job there," Emily shrugged her shoulders, "I mean, once the baby bump disappears and the twins aren't running me ragged."

"I'll be here to help," Mike promised her and then pulled out the flowers, "I made a quick stop on the way home."

"Mike…"

"Trust me, we have more than enough to afford little romantic gestures like this. Lauren paid me for the work and you won't believe how amazing she is."

He took the envelop full of cash from his pocket and passed it to Emily. She peeked inside and her eyes widened.

"Mike, that has to be a mistake."

"That's what I said. Lauren insisted. It's pay, plus bonus, plus baby gifts."

"It's over a thousand bucks. Plus the flowers…"

"I did work really hard," Mike nodded his head and took a seat beside Emily. "She promised to pay me a bit for painting too, and the school should be paying me soon. We're going to be just fine, Emily. The babies are going to be fine. We're going to be great parents, we've got a lot of support, there's no better family."

Emily smiled and leaned into Mike. She held up a tiny onesie to show him, "This is my favourite."

"It's small! Really, really small!"

"No smaller than Terran's stuff."

"Yeah, but…" Mike scratched his neck and grabbed the onesie with two fingers, "I guess I forgot just how small babies are."

"Yeah, they'll be small until it's time to come out," Emily rolled her eyes but then distracted herself with the little shoes. She grabbed a pair and showed them to Mike, "Green, for daddy."

"Okay, I really forgot how tiny babies are. And considering they'll have your genes… It's a good thing we have twins. I may lose one."

"Don't you dare," Emily shook her head and snatched back the shoe. "These kids may be a pain in the butt, but you are not losing them. I love them already."

Mike smiled as he watched Emily reach for something else. She pulled out a bib from her pile.

"Serena thought this was perfect."

"If you think I stink, you should smell my daddy?"

"This is the other bib we bought."

"You haven't seen cute until you've seen my mommy. I'm sensing a bias."

"Really?" Emily giggled. She gave the bibs to Mike and got up to put the flowers in a vase, "By the way, your parents called. It's been a while since we've seen them so they suggested dinner."

"Yeah, sure."

"That's what I said. And, I told them we had news," Emily smirked. Mike's face lit up.

"You're ready to start telling people outside the house?"

"We're having twins. We can't wait too long. Besides, Terran learned a new word today so I think we're starting to push it."

"What's that?"

"Fat."

Mike started to laugh. Emily crossed her arms over her chest.

"It's not funny. I'm showing, but not that much. But if Terran can tell I'm getting bigger, the others are going to find out soon. We'll tell your parents, then mine, and then we'll tell the others. I'm kind of getting excited for it."

"Really?"

Emily grinned and nodded her head, "It's going to be fun."

"Especially if we mess with them a bit. Shall we make a bet?"

"Alright, deal."

"Okay, this time, I get Mia and you get the guys. If Mia figures it out before the guys, I get to name the first kid that comes out whatever I want."

"Counter offer," Emily shook her head. "If Mia guesses first you can name the first kid anything you want except Zebulon."

"I would never do that to my own kid!" Mike gasped playfully. "I'll be cool, Em, I promise. And if Kevin, Jayden, and Antonio guess first…"

"I get massages anytime I want, for as long as I want, for the entire length of the pregnancy."

"You already will. I'm not a slacker husband."

"I want a contract. Wait, what about Ji and Kate?"

"Tie breaker," Mike shrugged, "Just in case Mia and one of the guys figure it out at the same time, the first person to get Kate or Ji to guess wins. I get Ji, you can have Kate."

"Alright, what are the rules."

"No props – tummy included. That means no teddy bears, banners, baby gifts, stuff like that. And we have word restrictions."

"Baby, girl, boy, twins are off limits," Emily nodded.

"And two for one, mini-me, little monsters, little stinkers, little terrors..."

"I'll play fair and try my best to keep my pregnancy symptoms out of it," Emily said, "but I make no promises. I could have a barf attack at any moment. Just ask James. By the way, the pot on the stove isn't all chilli..."

"So we have a deal?"

"Deal," Emily shook Mike's hand, "Oh, uh, just be careful with Mia, though. You know she…"

"I know how to handle Mia."

"Okay, but some women are really sensitive about this stuff. Just remember to be gentle and supportive."

"I'm the one having twins. I'll be nice, I promise."


	63. Night of Announcements

Emily sat at a table across from her in-laws and wasn't sure how to feel. Mike's parents had asked her and Mike to dinner to catch up on the latest events since they had last seen each other and Emily and Mike had some big and exciting news to share, but it seemed the twins weren't as excited as Emily. Her _morning_ sickness was coming back and all the smells in the restaurant were overwhelming her nose. Fortunately, Mike always had a huge appetite and even after eating his meal he still managed to help her clear her plate off.

The big announcement would wait until dessert, which had been ordered and was on the way. Emily had decided to let Mike share the news with his parents so there was no pressure on her to get the news right, but this would be the start of everything – the worried in-laws who wanted to spoil their grandchildren rotten, then would come the worried parents, who were thrilled she was pregnant, but they would fuss over the babies and Emily constantly. Mike would start stressing out too and would go overboard to make sure Emily was taking care of herself. Then came the other Samurai, who were just as worry-prone, possible more, as Emily's family. It would be a lot to handle, and Emily could almost feel her personal space disappearing. It was no wonder Mike was claustrophobic. It was a horrible feeling.

As the desserts came to the table, Mike reached over and took Emily's hand and smiled brightly at his parents. No one could ignore how Mike's face lit up.

"The freedom of starting your own life is amazing, isn't it?" David asked his son, "It must be a thousand times better knowing there is no pressure for the future. There will be no more need to train the next generation, your own child, to face the fierce…"

"That's actually why I'm happy, dad," Mike had his worries about the twins, but his joy had been obvious from the start. He was thrilled to be a father and even more excited to share the news with his parents, "There is no pressure, but sometimes things just happen and…"

"You're pregnant?" Carmen turned to Emily and then back to Mike. There was a mixture of excitement and fear on her face. She would never forget her first grandchild and the horror she had gone through. Not only had the pregnancy been announced to her in an email, but so had the miscarriage. Their first grandchild had never gotten a chance at life, and Carmen had been devastated by it. She had moved on, but she still had her worries.

Mike was all smiles as he confirmed it, "Yes, mom, we're pregnant."

"We…" Emily huffed and rolled her eyes, "You're not the one throwing up every other hour."

Carmen let out a little sigh, which Emily caught and wasn't too happy to hear, "Don't tell me morning sickness is genetic. Was Mike like this too? It's not going to last the entire time, is it?"

Carmen chuckled and shook her head, "No, not like that. Mike was an angel…"

"Until he was born," David teased his son.

Carmen gave Emily a smile, "Some people think a lot of morning sickness is a good sign, and after what happened last time…"

"Everything's going to be fine," Mike said with certainty, "but there is something you guys need to know. And it's really important."

"What is it?" David asked, "Whatever you need, we're ready to help. If you need advice or babysitting or…"

"Would we have to pay you double?" Mike smirked. At first neither of his parents understood. They never once thought of getting paid to babysit their grandchild. Eventually, David did catch on when a little smirk from his son gave him the clue he needed. His jaw hit the table.

"Wait, are you saying…?"

"Twins," Mike nodded. His mother grew instantly excited, then nervous, and then excited again, and screeched happily as she got up and ran around the table to hug her son and daughter in-law. Mike grumbled and looked around the room, seeing all eyes were on his table. "Mom…"

-Samurai-

"When is she going to be back?" Mia asked Serena over the phone as she paced back and forth in her kitchen. The wedding plans were coming along, but Mia was starting to get to the phase where she would need a maid of honour. It had been something of a toss-up between Serena and Emily since the moment Mia had been engaged, but Mia had made her decision and refused to change.

No matter how many times Serena told Mia Emily was out for the night.

"What do you mean you don't know… look, just have her call me when she… you know?"

"You say that every time you call," Riley groaned as she slurped up her pasta, earning her a disapproving stare from her father.

"Just… let her know I need her," Mia said before hanging up and turning back to the table. She saw Kevin was trying to hold back his laugh, "What?"

"Does it have to be Emily? You haven't told her yet so I'm sure you're allowed to change her mind."

"Maid of honour is typically the sister or the best friend of the bride. Emily is both of those."

"Is Auntie Emily really your sister?" Riley asked skeptically, "You don't look the same."

"She's as much my sister as you are my daughter."

"Is she adopted too?"

"Just eat your pasta, Riley."

Riley shrugged her shoulders and decided to drop the conversation before she had to hear another _it's complicated_. Her parents always resorted to that answer when they couldn't come up with something to tell her.

Mia groaned and turned to Kevin, "Apparently Emily and Mike are at dinner with Mike's parents."

"Call her cell," Kevin shrugged, "I'm sure they won't mind. It's big news."

"I've tried that. Her cell is turned off. Mike's too."

"Serena probably knows Mike's parents' numbers then. Have you asked her to pass on a message or…"

"She said the dinner was important."

"More important than telling Emily you chose her as your victim…? I mean maid of honour."

Mia glared at Kevin, "According to Serena, yes. She says whatever I have to say can wait until tomorrow. She said tomorrow afternoon. She doesn't want my phone call to wake Emily up."

"Why don't you just go tell her in person? Take Riley with you. I'm sure she would love a play date with Terran."

"No one's allowed at the house."

"Why?"

Mia shrugged her shoulders, "Serena wouldn't say. You know, she has been acting a little weird. When Riley and I were out buying shoes, we saw them at the store."

"They were buying two of everything!" Riley nodded her head.

"Serena said a teacher at school was expecting and she was buying the gifts for the baby shower."

"What's a baby shower?" Riley asked.

"A party for a baby."

"When am I having my party?"

"This weekend," Mia said and turned back to Kevin, "Emily did look really uncomfortable, though."

"You can't have kids," Kevin shrugged. He saw Riley was done with her meal so he grabbed her plate and his own and walked to the sink, "She might be trying to tread lightly."

"I can't have kids, but I know other women still can. Why would I get upset over that?"

"You can't have kids?" Riley asked, "I'm a kid."

"Go wash your face. You have sauce everywhere," Mia pointed to the bathroom in the hallway. Riley sighed, pushed away from the table and went to the bathroom to clean herself off. Mia looked to Kevin, "Besides, I have Riley."

"Isn't it different? Adoption was on the table from day one, but you still ran off because you couldn't get pregnant. No one took that harder than me, but I do remember Emily being pretty upset when you took off. She may have just been worried, you know…"

"That I would run off again? Because a stranger is pregnant? Kevin, I'm happy now. I'm about to get married to an amazing man, I have a wonderful daughter. I couldn't ask for more. I'm telling you, something's up."

"You know, we finally have our own lives," Kevin chuckled. "We don't need to meddle in the others' lives every time they run into a little speed bump. I'm sure if there's something we need to know, they'll tell us."

"And what do I do until then? My maid of honour has no idea she's my maid of honour."

"And she should cherish these moments," Kevin chuckled. "Do what Serena says, call her tomorrow afternoon. Dress shopping can wait, right?"

"I guess," Mia sighed and propped her head up on the table as she started to eat her dinner, "by the way, when are you going to get your tuxedo? The countdown's begun."

"I've got a list," Kevin tapped the cabinet where he had posted his list of to-dos and when-to-dos. "I'm right on track."


	64. Families Coming Together

After hearing the news that they were having twin grandchildren, Carmen and David didn't want the night to end and they invited Mike and Emily home with them for the night. Once they were home, David took Mike down to the basement, where he said he had kept some stuff from when Mike had been a baby that would be useful for the twins as they grew up (and would save Mike and Emily some money). Carmen kept Emily company in the kitchen and was making a special tea she insisted helped her with her morning sickness when she had been pregnant with Mike.

"It's not always going to be moments of joy," Carmen was also giving Emily some advice about pregnancy and warning her of some of the ups and downs that came with every trimester. Emily knew some things already from Serena and her research from her previous short lived pregnancy, but she did enjoy listening to her mother in-law. With both twins sharing half of Mike's genetics, it was comforting to hear Carmen's experience. It gave Emily hope that the morning sickness, the heartburn, and the aches and pains would settle down eventually. Carmen handed Emily a mug of tea, as well as a box of teabags for Emily to take home, "Don't get me wrong, some days you're going to wish the babies would just come out, especially towards the end when the novelty of the pregnancy has really expired, but you're always going to miss that feeling. There is nothing quite like being pregnant.

"It is a cool feeling," Emily smiled and rubbed her stomach. "Especially now that we know there are two in there. Sometimes, I look at Terran and I can't believe what's happening. It's surreal. A pain in the butt, but amazing."

Carmen smiled, "Emily, sweetheart, I know you have your sister and your mother, but I do want you to know that if you ever need anything, I'm more than ready to help you out."

"That's very sweet of you," Emily answered with a smile. "I'll remember that. I'll… oh, I completely forgot!"

Emily reached into her bag and pulled out an ultrasound picture. She placed it on the table to show Carmen.

"It's for you. I was freaking out when I was told it was twins, but I didn't forget to get enough pictures for the family. I promise, you'll get one of these every time I do."

Carmen looked down at the picture with a big smile on her face. Her husband, just like her son, was useless at reading the ultrasound pictures but she knew exactly what everything was. She saw her little grandchildren in the picture and traced over them lightly with her finger. Already she was falling in love with them. As a little tear slid down her cheek, she reached across the table and held Emily's hand.

"Em! Look at all this!" Mike came up the stairs with his father in tow and was grinning from ear to ear, "Mom and dad saved like… everything! I've got old train sets and action figures and…"

"A Barbie?" Emily turned to her husband and chuckled. He shrugged his shoulder.

"In case we have a daughter."

"I thought we would find the Barbie at my parents' house."

Mike suddenly turned very red and tossed the doll over his shoulder, almost hitting his father in the face with it.

"What Barbie?"

"Mike went through a phase," David chuckled and gave his son a pat on the back.

"No I didn't," Mike shook his head, "That was for… you know… once I started liking girls."

"Okay," Emily chuckled and turned to Mike's mother, who with a simple shake of the head told Emily all she needed to know.

-Samurai-

In Riley's bedroom, Mia sat on her daughter's bed with the four year old on her lap. It was time for Riley to go to sleep, but she wouldn't without a bedtime story. Just as Mia finished reading the little girl her fairy tale, Riley put her hand on the page.

"Why do people get married? Do you have to get married to have a happily ever after, like Cindyella?"

Mia shook her head and closed the book. She set it on Riley's night table and started to tuck her daughter in.

"You don't have to get married."

"What happens when you do get married?"

"Nothing really happens…"

"So why do you and Kevin have to get married?"

"We love each other, Riley. When two people love each other, sometimes they want to get married."

"Are we going to get married?"

"No," Mia chuckled and shook her head, "Why do you ask that?"

"I love you, and you love me, right?"

"It doesn't work that way," Mia took a seat beside Riley on the bed, "You don't have to worry about the wedding, Riley. It's not… it's not life-changing. Kevin and I are always going to be here for you. This wedding isn't going to change that."

"What is it going to do?"

"Kevin and I love each other. A lot."

"I know," Riley grumbled and rolled her eyes. Mia laughed and tickled her daughter.

"I want to spend the rest of my life with Kevin, and only Kevin."

"And…"

"And you. Of course you," Mia smirked, "But what Kevin and I have, it's special. I love him very much, and he loves me too. We want to celebrate that."

"But why?"

"That's what some people do."

"Why do they do it? What happens when you get married?"

"It's… it's… People get married to show each other and everyone else just how much they love the person they marry. This is hard for you, sweetie, but imagine loving someone so much, you don't ever want to lose them."

"I love you," Riley wrapped her little arms around her mother, "And I don't ever want you to go away."

"It's kind of like that, but different. You know how Kevin and I had to adopt you?"

"Yeah."

"Marriage is like that. You get to pick a very special person and adopt them as your husband or your wife. When you get married, that's where you make a promise to love, care for, and support that person you chose forever."

"And then you live happily ever after?"

"If you made the right decision. I know I did. Kevin and I are going to live happily ever after."

"With me, right?"

"With you," Mia gave her daughter a kiss, "That's why we want to get married. Kevin and I adopted you, but we haven't adopted each other yet."

"Are we going to be like a mommy, a daddy, and a baby?"

"Exactly like that. But we already are like that. The wedding is just… it's just going to be a ceremony and a party to celebrate that."

"My old mommy and daddy were married, right?"

"I believe so."

"I love my old mommy and my old daddy."

"I know you do."

"And my old mommy and my old daddy love me too, right?"

"Very much."

"They do," Riley answered her own question, "Mommy said she did every night after reading me a bedtime story. Hey! Just like you!"

"Yeah, Riley, just like me. And Kevin, he loves you very much too."

"I know," Riley sighed, "He tells me all the time."

Mia chuckled. She gave Riley another kiss, "Goodnight, Riles. I love you."

"Nighty night, new mommy Mia. I love you too," Riley grabbed her Cinderella Barbie and her pink Ranger teddy bear and cuddled them as she settled into her bed to fall asleep.

Mia had to keep her composure as she walked out of the room, turned off the bedroom light and slowly closed the door until it was open just a crack. She tip-toed down the stairs. When she was at the bottom, she sprinted to the living room where Kevin was watching TV. She jumped on the couch, almost knocked him over, and wrapped her arms around him.

"I'm a mommy!"

"What?"

"Riley and I were talking!" Mia was so excited Kevin could barely keep up with what she was saying. "She was asking about the wedding and somehow she figured it all out! I'm a mommy! I'm her mommy!"

"Mia, that's great," Kevin hugged his fiancée and then felt something wet on his shirt. He pulled away for a moment and saw she was crying, "Mia?"

"I'm happy," Mia assured him and pulled him in for a kiss, "It's… it really is… mom wasn't lying, Kevin, this is the most amazing feeling in the world."

Kevin smiled, pulled Mia back in for a hug and gave her another kiss. He knew how much this meant to her. Though she had made her love of weddings very obvious to anyone who knew her for more than minutes, what she wanted even more than that was to have a family: the husband _and_ the kids. Now she had it. In spite of everything, she her dreams had come true.


	65. Another Big Announcement To Make

Jayden had wiggled himself into classes at the college. He had some work to do to catch up on what he missed at the start of the semester, but he was determined and ready to learn all he needed to know about running a business, leaving Lauren to finish up the dojo by herself.

Jayden and Antonio would come by after class or after fishing and selling stock, but the better part of their day was spent at their job or in class. Lauren did have some outside help with Ji and Kate, and though she was thankful when they stopped by and picked up a paintbrush or told her of their ideas for décor and design, they were doing a lot more flirting than anything else.

Mike had promised to come by after school, but today he had cancelled. After football practice he had to get home to make a big announcement to Emily's parents. He and Emily were slowly spreading the news of their pregnancy around the family and Lauren was eager for them to finally reveal the news to the others. She knew they were having a baby and promised to stay quiet. She had never broken a promise before and didn't intend to start now, but she would only be able to keep the secret for so long.

In spite of the mess, the dojo was starting to look like a dojo. The painting was done and Ji and Kate had dropped off some of the training equipment from the Shiba House. Lauren was trying to figure out where and how to set it all up so the room looked nice and felt like a dojo, without reminding her too much of her rough childhood. She wanted the dojo to feel more like the one at the Shiba House and less like the ones she had grown up in.

She couldn't recreate the Shiba House dojo. There had been some weapons and tools displayed that were Ranger specific for training and Lauren wanted to keep her identity a secret. She was an amazing Samurai, but when asked she would only say she had studied martial arts her entire life and had turned her passion into her career.

A knock at the door pulled her attention away from the mats she was setting up on the flood and she looked up to see a teenager standing on the sidewalk and looking in. She wasn't ready for students yet, but wouldn't turn a curious spirit away. She got up and greeted her possible future student with a smile.

"Hey!"

The teenager didn't seem as excited as she was, but he didn't back away. He gestured to the dojo.

"Place looks pretty cool."

"Thanks. I'm hoping to get it up and sunning soon. You interested in martial arts at all? Maybe a little sword training?"

"Very," the teenager answered with a little bit of a smile, "I've been studying it for a while."

"Really? So, you're probably pretty good, then?"

"I'm not terrible."

"Why don't you come inside?" Lauren offered and opened the door a little wider so the teenager would feel welcomed, "It's not exactly finished, but I can clear a space and we can spare for a bit."

"I guess it wouldn't hurt," the teenager walked in and set down his bag. Lauren noticed it looked like it was stuffed with notebooks for homework and gave a smile.

"What school do you go to?"

"For now, Panorama High," he answered with a little bit of a sigh, "My parents are thinking of moving again."

"Moving?" Lauren was a little disappointed. The first person to show interest in her dojo didn't sound like he would be around long enough to be a long-time student. It didn't stop her, though. A little teaching experience would be fun, and she could see if she was really suited to teach non-Samurai students. She gave the teenager a little smile, "I moved around a lot too. I'm sure you'll find a place to settle down eventually. Sometimes it just takes a little time."

"Hopefully this is the last one," the teenager said. He took off his sweater, finding it was easier to spar without the extra layer holding him back. Lauren pulled her hair back and gave him another smile.

"Before we get started, I'm Lauren Shiba. My brother and I own this place."

"Troy. Troy Burrows."

"Let's see what you've got, Troy."

-Samurai-

Emily rushed around the main floor of the house, cleaning up and hiding all the baby things that were in sight and that didn't belong to Terran. She was going to announce her pregnancy to her parents and didn't want the moment to be ruined because they spotted new baby clothes or newborn supplies.

She was also nervous – very nervous. The circumstances were very different from when Serena had to announce her pregnancy to her parents, but the day still haunted Emily, and a little part of her was worried it would be a repeat of what happened. While she and Mike were married, they weren't ready for kids. Mike had only just started working and no one was sure this was a long-term option for him. Emily had been thinking of taking classes, but had been so caught up getting her life on track and then with the pregnancy she hadn't been able to. Mike insisted they were going to be okay and Emily believed him, but her parents, her mother especially, worried her.

Terran watched her run around the first floor of the house with a laugh. Most days, he was a sweet, charming, and innocent young boy, but from time to time he reminded everyone he was biologically Dekker's son. Emily's panic was hilarious to him, and she was sure he was doing all he could to prolong it. After having just stuffed a pile of clothes under the couch, Terran was pulling everything out and giggling as he did so.

"Terran!" Emily scooped him up, kicked the baby clothes under the couch and glared at her nephew, "You think this is funny?"

Terran clapped his hands together. Emily groaned and set him down in his play pen.

"You won't be laughing for long," she gave him a few toys to keep him occupied and walked into the kitchen where her vitamins sat on the counter and stowed them away in a drawer for safe keeping, all while praying her parents wouldn't snoop around the house. Just as she hid away all the bottles for her vitamins the front door opened. Emily jumped almost a foot in the air and her heart raced.

"Em?" Mike's voice calmed her when she knew it was only him. She stepped out into the hallway and crossed her arms over her chest.

"You scared me. I thought you were my parents!"

"I thought you were excited for this," Mike chuckled while he hung up his jacket. "Once we tell your parents, the fun really begins."

"I am excited… I'm just… nervous. And Terran's not helping. I want to tell my parents, but he keeps trying to leave clues."

Mike walked to the living room and saw Terran standing in his play pen and looking over the top. He chuckled and turned to his wife, shaking his head, "You jailed him?"

"He's evil."

Mike lifted his nephew and held him in his arms, "Everything's going to be fine. Your parents are going to be just as happy for us as my parents were. Speaking of…"

"Eleven voicemails," Emily pointed to her phone which sat on the counter. Mike chuckled and took his from his pocket.

"Twenty-six. See, Em, they care. Everyone cares; everyone's going to be happy for us. It's going to be fine."

Emily nodded her head and let out a breath she didn't know she was holding in. Mike came over and wrapped his arms around her comfortingly.

"It's going to be fun."

The doorbell rang suddenly and Emily jumped and screamed. Mike chuckled, shook his head and went to answer the door.

-Samurai-

Lauren watched Troy hit the mat, but had to nurse her arm, positive she was going to have a nice bruise to show off to Jayden when she told him all about her potential first student.

Troy jumped back to his feet but the spar had ended. He bowed to Lauren and then gave her a smile, "You're really good."

"Thanks. You're really good too. I was worried for a bit that I was going to lose," Lauren walked to the bench where she had a couple of red towels. She kept one for herself and tossed the second to Troy, as well as a water bottle. As he wiped off his sweat and rehydrated, Lauren gave him a playful smirk, "Look, I know it's not much now, and you don't think you'll be in town for a while, but what do you say you help me and my brother get this place up and running, and I'll give you free lessons in exchange?"

"The deal sounds pretty fair," Troy nodded his head and smiled in return, "I'll take you up on that offer. What do you need me to do?"

-Samurai-

Just like with Mike's parents the night before, the first part of the meeting was a game of catch up. With her life being so busy, Emily had little time to keep in touch with her parents. They had told her about the farm and how life was going for them back home and Mike had told them all about his job at the school; how he was the assistant coach to the football team and how he was helping a few inexperienced male cheerleaders catch up with the rest of the squad.

The conversation was starting to die down and Emily knew it was almost her turn. Terran sat on her lap to hide the baby bump from her parents and she played with his toy more than he did, using it to keep herself calm until she got to announce the news and see her parents' reaction.

"Emily?" her mother looked concerned, "You've been quiet, is everything okay?"

Mike saw Emily was nervous and helped her out a little bit. He put his hand on her leg and smile, "She's just been feeling a little under the weather lately, haven't you, Em?"

Emily nodded and now it was her father's turn to look a little worried.

"You haven't caught that bug that's been going around, have you? Have you seen a doctor? Don't put it off like your sister did…"

"It's fine, dad. I'm okay."

"Are you sure?" Jack asked her, "I know the doctor's office isn't a warm space, but it's better to know for sure what's making you sick."

"I know, dad. I know exactly what's been… I know what I've caught. I'm fine."

"Is it contagious?" her mother asked and glanced worriedly to Terran.

Emily turned her attention to Mike for a moment, "I hope not."

"Just tell them, Emily," Mike chuckled. He knew this little talk could go back and forth for a while. Emily could speak in code to hide her secret for as long as her parents were willing to stay, and her parents didn't seem to be catching on in the slightest. Emily took a deep breath, hugged Terran a little closer, and looked at both her parents.

"How would you feel if Terran had another cousin or two to play with?"

"A… A what?"

"How many?" Jack's jaw hit the floor as he looked at his baby girl, "You're… are you? You're not…"

"I'm pregnant," Emily nodded her head, "and it's twins."

Her father jumped up from the couch, took his little girl and Terran in his arms and hugged tightly. Ellie sat on the couch and leaned into her seat. Her eyes were watering up with tears. Mike looked across at his mother in-law.

"Is everything okay?" he asked her. She turned to him and nodded her head.

"I'm just… yeah, everything's fine," she got to her feet just as Jack set Emily down. He took Terran in his arms to celebrate the news with his grandson and son in-law while Emily turned to her mother.

"Mom?"

"I'm really happy for you, sweetheart," Ellie pulled her daughter in for a hug, "And I promise, I'll be there for you every step of the way."

"Really?"

"Of course," Ellie promised and pulled away from Emily to show her smile, "And we can start by going out and getting you…"

"We have enough stuff mom," Emily chuckled and turned to her dad for a moment to ask him to put Terran down. As soon as Terran's feet touched the ground he took off running. He opened every drawer, pulled out every box, and yanked out everything Emily had tucked away. Emily turned to her mother and gave her a sheepish smile, "Serena kind of went overboard when I told her. I've got everything I'll need and possibly more."

"It… it looks like you do," Ellie laughed. "Is there really nothing left for the grandparents?"

"I am working on a rocking chair downstairs," Mike shrugged his shoulders and turned to Jack, "I'm finding It to be a bit tough."

"Let me have a look," Jack said and followed Mike down to the basement.

Ellie turned to Emily and looked a little disappointed, "I don't just want to sit back and wait for the babies to come out before I can start helping. Just name it, Emily. Whatever you need…"

"Just my mom," Emily leaned into her mother, "I'm terrified."

"I was too, sweetheart," Ellie hugged her daughter and kissed the top of her head.


	66. Rocky And Rocking Relationships

Jayden was tired after his class. As it turned out, sitting in a room and taking notes for a couple of hours was tiring. He didn't want to head down to the dojo and work, but he did feel a little inspired. His classes had given him a few ideas and he wanted to discuss them with Lauren. He was sure she was feeling tired too after working on the dojo for the day but even just discussing some new ideas would be more than enough work for the day to make Jayden comfortable with the progress the dojo was making. But when he walked into the dojo, he was surprised by what he saw. Lauren was nowhere in sight, unless something had happened to turn her into a teenage boy. The boy was wearing red, like Lauren normally would.

"Uh… who are you?" Jayden set his bag on the floor before having a look around. Lauren worked quickly – the dojo was really coming along. Aside from a few aesthetics details, it was pretty much done with renovations.

Troy wiped off some dust and paint from his hands on his pants and got up to shake Jayden's hand, "I'm, uh, I'm Troy. I was just helping Sensei Lauren…"

"Sensei?" Jayden asked. His sister came out of the back room in time to hear it and smirked.

"Mentor makes me think of Ji and all my past mentors. I figured I would stick with what's traditional. Jayden, this is Troy, he's our first student. Troy, this is my brother and business partner Jayden."

"We have a student already?" Jayden asked as he took Lauren aside, letting Troy get back to his work on the back wall.

"I'm giving him free lessons," Lauren shrugged her shoulders. Jayden rolled his eyes and groaned. Lauren put her hands on her hips, "What that tone, young man!"

"I didn't…"

"Troy's helping me finish this place up, and in exchange I offered him some free lessons. He's already pretty good; he just needs a little more practice. I think the experience would be good for business and I'm finding out what kind of teacher I want to be."

"Lauren…" Jayden sighed and shook his head, but he decided to drop the matter. He walked to his bag and started to pull out a few notes, "I've got some interesting stuff here we're going to have to go over. I'm learning a lot in my classes and I think the sooner we get on top of this business stuff…"

"No," Lauren shook her head and walked away from her brother. She placed her hand on Troy's back, "You did great today. Thanks so much for your help."

"No problem," Troy gave her a little nod, "I can come back tomorrow, if that's okay."

"Tomorrow's perfect. Bye, Troy."

Troy bowed before he grabbed his bag and walked out. Jayden put his notebook on the counter in Antonio's kitchenette and sat down at the barstool. When he turned around to see if Lauren was coming, he saw she was getting ready to leave, "Lauren?"

"Didn't you hear me? I don't want to talk about your stupid business stuff."

"Stupid business stuff? Lauren, this is the most important part of starting a business. We need to get our papers in order and we need to make sure we're actually certified before we open. We've got a lot to…"

"Then you take care of it," Lauren huffed and walked to the door. She put on her jacket, "All my ideas are crap anyways."

"What does that mean? Lauren, you're not making any sense. Let's just sit down and…" the door slammed shut as Lauren walked out. Jayden sighed loudly and shook his head. Antonio walked into the dojo moments later and gave Jayden a look.

"I just saw Lauren looking…"

"I don't know what I did, but yeah, I pissed her off," Jayden sighed.

Antonio took a seat beside Jayden, "You must have done something."

"Not that I can think of. I told her we needed to go over a few of the things I learned in my classes and she got angry."

"Paperwork is pretty frustrating. Mind if I take a look?"

Jayden handed Antonio his notes, "I guess we're doing this by ourselves."

-Samurai-

In his basement, Mike was working on a rocking chair with Jack. One of his ideas to save money was that he would build as much as the furniture as possible. He had the power to make the wood for cribs, changing tables, and rocking chairs, and he was good enough with his hands to come up with something sturdy, safe, and comfortable enough for his wife and his twins. He had already built a crib (which had earned him many praises from Jack) and was now working on a rocking chair. If he had time, he wanted to build two, but for now he wanted to make sure he and Emily had at least one to rock their children to sleep.

Jack was excellent with carpentry – having worked on a farm his entire life, he had plenty of experience creating his own pieces – from furniture, to tools, to tree houses for his daughters. When he saw the start of Mike's rocking chair, he jumped right in to help and the project was moving along quickly.

"You're really planning on building everything yourself?" Jack looked up at Mike who nodded his head.

"Emily and I are still getting settled. Ideally we want a place of our own before the twins are born and we know that means a lot more money than what we have saved up. I'm working really hard to make sure that happens."

"I can tell. I really admire what you're doing."

"Really?" Mike looked nervously to his father in-law. He had earned Jack's trust when it came to Emily, but the bigger, stronger man still did terrify him. It was surprising to hear that Jack admired something Mike did.

"When I heard I was having a baby, I wanted nothing to do with the kid or Ellie."

"Yeah, but, to be fair, you weren't married to her at the time," Mike nervously scratched the back of his neck as he recalled Jack's story of how Serena was born. "I would have been a little freaked out by it too…"

"Freaked out is one thing," Jack shook his head, "If I had my way, I'd probably still be sleeping with random girls I meet in bars. I was lucky enough to have a mother who knew what was best for me and her grandchild."

"Well, I don't plan on leaving Emily or the twins behind. Not now, not anytime soon, and not ever. I'm here to stay."

"I'm talking about more than that. Shut up, son, and let me speak."

Mike sat down on his little bench and closed his mouth. Just because Jack admired him didn't mean he wasn't going to kill him.

"You don't think my daughters and I talk? I know what you've done. I know everything you've ever done with my little girls and their friends."

Mike gulped but didn't say a word. His past wasn't clean.

Jack picked up a hammer and went back to work on the chair while he spoke to Mike, "You were there for Emily when Carrie died, and you've been there for her since, and you were there for her long before that too. You've also always been an important uncle for Terran. Serena tells me you took him in as your own before James turned up."

"James being around doesn't change how I feel about Terran," Mike shrugged his shoulders. "He can always count on me. I promise, I…"

"He's not even your son. You had no obligations towards him and you still took care of him. I almost gave up my daughter. My own flesh and blood. I was ready to turn my back on her. Yet here you are, building a home for your wife and your kids with your own hands, and helping out with a kid you have no obligations too."

"I am his uncle now."

Jack pointed the hammer at Mike. The green Ranger winced, scared he was going to suffer for his smart-ass comment. Instead, Jack used the hammer only to point.

"I hope, if you do have a son, he turns out exactly like you. He'll be annoying, and his drive his grandfather to madness, I'm sure of it, but he'll be a real man. I'm proud of you, son."

"Thanks. That really means a lot."

"I also hope you have a daughter. That way, you'll know exactly how I feel about you once she starts dating."

Mike sighed as he picked up his tools and got back to work, "Moment ruined."

-Samurai-

Lauren got home to the Shiba House and dumped her bag on the floor. She stomped into the common and landed face first in the couch. Kate saw her walking in and sighed, "Rough day at work?"

"I hate my brother."

"Oh, that kind of day," Kate said. She took a seat on the coffee table beside the couch, "Want to talk about it?"

"No… yes," Lauren sat up and hugged her knees to her chest, "I know I'm new to this whole… having a life thing, but Jayden's treating me like I can't do anything right. Mike needs some extra cash, so I pay him to help with the renovations and Jayden's upset with me for doing it. Then, today, this kid came by and it seemed like he was interested in taking lessons. I offered him free lessons in exchange for helping me fix up the dojo. It sounds reasonable, right?"

"Perfectly reasonable," Kate said, "So what's the problem there?"

"Jayden's still frustrated with me. Every time I try to make a decision, he treats it like… like I don't know what I'm doing. I get the business stuff is complicated and I don't know much about that, but there's more to a business than just business."

"Sounds like you have the drive, and he's got the business. You want this to work and Jayden wants to make sure it's going to work. From what I've seen, he's just trying to make sure this dream of your is a success. He is helping you, Lauren."

"But he sounds so condescending when he does it. Every time I try to tell him about a new idea I have he rolls his eyes. He did that today when I told him about Troy."

"Troy?"

"The student. Then he tells me he's got some good ideas that I should listen to. Am I allowed to roll my eyes too?"

"You will treat your brother the way you want him to treat you," Kate shook her head. Lauren let out a sigh.

"I know, and I will, I just… I want the dojo to do well too, but I want to have fun with it. I'm not going to blow all of dad's money. I don't plan on even using half of it on the dojo – ever! But training, that's all I know. I want to turn it into something fun. Something enjoyable with my brother."

"So tell him that," Kate said. She sat on the couch and wrapped her arm around Lauren, "He's doing this for you, Lauren. I'm sure he feels the same way. You just need to make sure you're on the same page with what you're doing and what you want. It'll work out from there."

Lauren nodded her head and leaned into Kate for a moment before she felt her phone vibrate. Thinking it was Jayden, she checked it, hoping to apologize for walking out on him. She saw, instead, it was a text from Emily.

"_Parents: check. Samurai Family: uncheck. Can you, Mentor, and Kate come over for dinner? Mike and I are finally ready to tell the others. And there's a surprise for you too."_

Lauren answered back, _"Another surprise? A baby isn't enough? Yeah sure, we'll come over."_

"_Awesome!"_ was Emily's reply, _"Come by whenever. Oh, and stay quiet. Mike and I have a bet going about how long it'll take the others to figure it out."_

"_You're betting?"_

"_It's tradition. I'll see you soon!"_

Lauren smiled as she tucked her phone away and turned to Kate, who had done all she could to respect Lauren's privacy, "We're going to Serena and Emily's for dinner. Everyone's invited."

"Really? What's the occasion?"

"Not sure," Lauren smirked as she got up from the couch to get ready for dinner, "but I think it's going to be an interesting night."


	67. Careful Announcements

Mia and Kevin were last to arrive to dinner, with a very excited Riley. The little girl's family was still very new to her, but she had started to form friendships with many of her aunts and uncles, and also loved to play with her cousin Terran and Emily's dog. As soon as she was in the house she kicked off her boots, dropped her coat on the floor and ran to Terran.

"Let's go play princess!" she took him by the hand and walked with him to the living room. Terran followed, fascinated he had someone closer to his age and size to play with – who wouldn't always try to lick his face.

"Emily!" Mia called when she saw her best friend sitting in the kitchen and talking with the rest of the Samurai family. She had two announcements to make to her little sister and was excited to share them with Emily first. When she cleaned up Riley's mess in the front hall and put her own boots and jacket away she walked over to Emily, "You'll never guess…"

"I can't talk to you," Emily got up suddenly and bolted past Mia to take Kevin by the arm and walk with him to the common room. Now that Mia had arrived the bet was officially on. Emily got a bit of a head start with Jayden and Antonio, but both of them were way too thick to realize what she was trying to say.

Her bet with Mike was similar to the bet they played after secretly getting engaged. They had divided up their friends into two teams. Mike had the job of getting Mia to figure out he and Emily were pregnant, and Emily had to make Kevin, Jayden, or Antonio clue in. The first one to do so, without giving out obvious clues would be crowned the winner.

Mia was a little hurt when Emily darted past her, but she had news that was sure to catch the yellow Ranger's attention.

"Will you be my maid of honour?"

Emily dropped Kevin's arm and turned around. The whole room fell silent. Theories of who Mia would ask had been circling from the day everyone found out Mia was obsessed with weddings. On the one hand, it would have been an honour to be chosen for such a very important role on the most dreamt about and important day of Mia's life.

On the other hand, it was the most important role on the most dreamt about and important day of Mia's life, and the responsibilities of maid of honour were heavy.

"You… you want me?" Emily had a feeling Mia would choose her. They had been best friends – sisters even – since the day they met, and Mia never had someone she could trust as much as Emily (Kevin excluded). But when Serena turned up and became a permanent part of Mia's life, the odds of being chosen had been cut in half. Emily had hoped (and dreaded) that her friendship with Mia was strong enough to still be considered first choice, but she had always been second choice. Now, not only had Serena been maid of honour once and so knew what she was doing, she was also older and Emily felt Serena was more prepared for the responsibilities that came with the role.

"That got your attention," Mia chuckled and looked around the room, hearing the silence, "That got everyone's attention. Hey guys…"

Mia walked to Emily and pulled her aside to the hallway so they could talk privately, "So, will you?"

"Yeah, yeah I will, I… are you sure?"

"It's like I told Kevin; the maid of honour is usually the sister or the best friend of the bride. You're the only one who falls into _both_ of those categories. You're the clear choice. Sorry it took so long to ask. Kevin and I were distracted with… other stuff."

"Adopting Riley, yeah…"

"And birthday plans," Mia sighed, "Her birthday is Valentine's Day."

"Oh…"

"We've got it figured out. Don't worry, no one's missing out."

"Do you… you really want me as your maid of honour? I'm… I'm Emily!"

"And I'm Mia, nice to meet you," Mia teased and hugged her best friend, "I want you, Emy. My wedding will be perfect if you're standing up there with me."

"And Kevin."

"Duh," Mia smirked. "So what do you say tomorrow we go dress shopping and…?"

"Uh… yeah… dresses," Emily discreetly touched her stomach, knowing that though the wedding was only a short ways away, she was getting bigger and bigger, and shopping for maid of honour dresses was going to be tricky, "I'm uh… babysitting Terran tomorrow and…"

"Bring him along," Mia shrugged, "Kevin's got his swim classes, so I'll have Riley. They'll keep each other entertained."

"Um… okay… can I talk to Kevin about something?" Emily wanted to be a good maid of honour and help the bride shop for the wedding, but she wasn't about to forfeit the bet telling Mia and letting Mike win. Though she would get her messages no matter the outcome, she did want the bragging rights.

"Yeah. I'll pick you up tomorrow before lunch. How does that sound?"

"Fantastic," Emily said and bolted into the kitchen, where the family had gathered. She grabbed Kevin by the arm and pulled him from his seat.

"I need to talk to you."

"Bridezilla's your problem now."

"It's serious," Emily pulled Kevin out of the room and upstairs. Fortunately, there were no baby supplies in sight in her room, so if Kevin did figure out the surprise it would be fair game. She closed the door so no one would eavesdrop (though if Jayden or Antonio did and they figured out she was pregnant she wouldn't mind). "Something's happened."

"And you're talking to me about it?" Kevin asked. "Mia didn't say anything to you, did she?"

"It's between Mike and me. It's…" Emily bit her tongue. The words that were off-limits were getting in her way. This bet was challenging, "It's something big."

Big definitely wasn't on the list of words she couldn't say. At this stage, the twins were anything but.

"Is everything okay between the two of you?" Kevin looked to Emily worriedly, "Do I need to kick his ass?"

"No, no, Mike's been amazing through this. He's the best. I still just… you know… what Mike and I wanted after we defeated the Nighlok?"

"Normal lives? Em, if you have something to say, just spit it out. I'm not a mind reader."

Suddenly, Emily had an idea, "That song! That song you sing when two people like each other and you want to tease them!"

"What song? The sitting in a tree one?"

"Yeah, how does that go?"

"Are you drunk?" Kevin leaned down to see if he could smell any alcohol on Emily's breath. She shook her head and pushed him away.

"Just sing the last part of the song. "You know, first comes…"

"Love."

"Then comes…"

"Marriage."

"Then comes…"

"The baby in the baby carriage… Em, are you feeling okay? You got the _just say no_ talk, right?"

Emily grabbed her hair in her fists and groaned in frustration. She clenched her jaw and sang through her teeth, "Mike and Emily sitting in a tree. K-I-S-S…"

"There's been a flu going around," Kevin put his hand on Emily's forehead, "Do you need me to talk you to the doctor's?"

"I'm not sick! Kevin, you're being stupid! Something happened with Mike and me, it's serious, and now I'm singing the tree song like an idiot. And no, I'm not drunk, I can't drink."

"We're at home; you can have a glass or two."

"Kevin, I can't drink. Fortunately, I'm underage because I can't drink."

"Why not?"

"Because first comes love, then comes marriage, then comes…"

"The baby in the… the baby? You're pregnant?"

"Finally!" Emily threw her hands up in the air, cried out in relief and then opened her bedroom door. She called down the stairs, "I win, Mike! Kevin got it!"

"Dammit! I was so close!"

"You made another bet! You're pregnant?" Kevin asked. Emily walked back to her room and sat Kevin down on the bed.

"Shh, I want to be there when the others find out. I'm pregnant, Kevin. Mike and I are going to… well, you know how this ends. Are you okay?"

"Am I okay? Are you okay? You're the pregnant one."

"You're not mad?"

"Why would I be mad?"

"Maybe because Mia…"

"That's got nothing to do with it," Kevin pulled Emily in for a hug, "I'm happy for you. Mia will be too. You actually timed this announcement right."

"Really? Why?"

"Last night, Riley called Mia mommy. Mia wanted to tell you."

"That's great!"

"And so is this! You're pregnant! I thought you and Mike wanted to wait?"

"The timing's not right. I'm kind of freaking out about that, but we're going to be okay," Emily smiled. She took Kevin's hand, "We have one more announcement to make."

"A baby's not enough?" Kevin chuckled teasingly. Emily smirked as she walked downstairs and joined the others in the kitchen. By now, Emily's cries down the stairs had everyone who didn't already know very confused and eager to find out.

"What's going on," Antonio asked as he looked back and forth between Emily and Mike, "What game are you two playing?"

Emily smiled at Mike and he nodded. She began to take off the sweater she was wearing to cover the baby bump. It wasn't big, and for now it just looked like she had eaten too many cookies, but she hoped it would be enough of a clue for the rest of her family to figure it out.

"Emily and I made a bet to see how long it would take you guys to figure out…"

"Emily's always got a hand in the cookie jar?" Antonio teased, seeing Emily had put on some weight. Jayden nudged him for the rude comment, but Antonio didn't have time to apologize. His eyes widened and his jaw dropped to the floor, "No way! You're pregnant?"

"What's pregnant?" Riley asked.

Emily's focus shifted over to Mia. Kevin had assured her Mia would be okay hearing the news, but Emily wanted to make sure this wasn't going to be hard for her best friend. Mia's dream had always been to get married and start a family and that had been ripped away from her suddenly. She had to play with the cards fate had dealt her and it had been rough for Mia at first. Emily didn't want Mia to feel angry or hurt.

"Are you really pregnant?" Mia asked. "That's really…"

"We found out a little while back," Emily nodded, "I would have told you sooner, I promise, it's just…"

"It's okay," Mia shook her head and hugged her best friend, "Congratulations."

"You're okay with this?"

"A little jealous," Mia nodded, "But I'm happy for you. This doesn't exempt you from maid of honour duties. Though I'll need to rethink dress choices."

"What about when I tell you it's… twins?"

"T… twins?"

"I didn't ask for this," Emily could see the smile on Mia's face starting to falter, and she knew it wasn't fair. Mia couldn't get pregnant with even one baby, and without trying Emily had two. "I'm sorry, I'll…"

"Mommy," Riley, fed up with not getting an answer to her question, approached Mia and tugged on her arm. Mia looked down at her daughter, lifted the girl in her arms.

"Yes?"

"What is pregnant?"

Mia gave her daughter a little hug before pointing to Emily's stomach, "You see how Auntie Emy's got a little bit of a round tummy?"

"Yeah."

"There are two babies in there."

"Babies? You have two babies in your tummy? Did you eat them?"

Emily kept her attention on Mia, "Are you…"

"Very happy for you, Emily. Congratulations."

"Congatuations? Mommy, she ate two babies! She's mean!"

"I didn't eat babies, Riley. My tummy is making babies," Emily giggled, "I'm going to be a mommy."

"How do you make babies?"

"Mike kissed my belly button," Emily lied and smirked at Mike. Riley put her hands on her stomach.

"I have a belly button! How do the babies get in your tummy?"

"They appear magically."

"How do they get out?"

"That's a mommy question," Emily laughed. She gave Mia a pat on the shoulder and went to talk with the rest of the Samurai family about the big news, happy to see she could finally celebrate and share with the others without wo. Naturally, everyone started to crowd around her and ask her questions.

Kevin walked over to Mia, "You are okay with everything, right? It's okay if you're a little upset."

"I am. I'm a little jealous too. But I have Riley and… everything's going to be okay."

"Mommy," Riley was getting annoyed with the adults, "How are the babies going to get out of Auntie Emy's tummy?"

"That's a daddy question," Mia said and handed Riley over to Kevin. Before he could refuse, Mia joined the crowd of Samurai, leaving him with the little girl. Riley glared up at her father.

"Well, you're not going to tell me, are you?"

"You know, that question is really more of an Auntie Lauren question. That's what a godmother's job is. Why don't you go ask her all these questions?"

He set Riley on the ground and joined the Samurai as quickly as he could. Riley puffed her cheeks but did as her father told her. She pushed her way through the crowd of grown-ups until she found Lauren's hand. She took it and tugged until she dragged Lauren out of the circle.

"Is Auntie Emy going to get the babies out of her tummy?"

Lauren looked frightened and glanced over her shoulder at Kevin and Mia, "Cowards!"

"Is it complicated?" Riley asked. Lauren got down on her knees so she was at eye level with the girl.

"Would you believe the babies just poof out of the tummy?"

"Nope. You would have said so."

"Okay… um, well… you know, I'm not too sure either. How about we both find out when the babies come out?"

"You mean wait?"

"Patience is a virtue."

"Is a virtue complicated too?"

"Patience is a good thing. Hey, I know, about we steal some of Auntie Emily's cookies and forget all about these questions."

"Okay!" Riley's eye lit up as she raced to the cabinets. She had spent a few days living in the house when Mia and been trying to apologize to Kevin and remembered where the sweets were kept. When she opened the drawer, not only did she find cookies, but a pile of baby clothes fell to the floor, "Whoa!"

"Told you," Emily rolled her eyes, "I don't need anything guys. Serena went way overboard with the baby stuff. We have two of everything everywhere."

"Don't give me that look," Serena turned away from the Samurai as they gave her a stare, "My baby sister's pregnant with twins. What did you really think I was going to do?"


	68. The Shiba's Dojo

Dinner was a time for celebrating as Emily and Mike announced to their Samurai family that they were expecting twins. Just as they had expected, jaws had dropped and many questions were asked, but in the end everyone was happy and excited for them. Mike spent most of the night glancing over to Emily. From the moment she saw the pregnancy test was positive, and even some time before that, starting a family this early had worried her. Now that everyone in her family knew and promised to support the expectant parents, Emily's smile and excitement never disappeared. She took out all the baby clothes Serena had bought happily showed them off to anyone willing to make a fuss over them – Mia, Kate, and Antonio.

Mike spent most of his night talking with Ji and Kevin as they congratulated him and offered their help in any way possible. Ji told Mike he was willing to babysit anytime the parents would need a break from their rambunctious twins (it was almost guaranteed that any combination of Mike and Emily would be rambunctious) while Kevin checked in with Mike constantly to make sure his little brother knew what he was getting into. There was no stopping the pregnancy, but Kevin wanted Mike to be as prepared as possible. He had little experience with raising a child, but if Riley was any indication then one kid was already a handful.

Lauren hung back in the kitchen. She was excited for her cousin, and the news that it was twins was shocking for her, but she couldn't get into the celebrating like everyone else. The only time she had been around a pregnant woman had been her mother. She would help Emily and Mike in any way she could but for the most part she would stick to watching and observing.

Jayden came over to his sister. They hadn't yet spoken since their fight in the dojo, but Jayden thought he had given Lauren enough time to cool off. He took a seat beside her at the table and sighed.

"Whatever I did, I'm sorry."

"Me too," Lauren said and nodded her head, "You're just trying to help, I get that."

"I have the papers in the car," Jayden pointed over his shoulder. He was assuming that since Lauren had apologized it was safe to bring up all the paperwork that needed to be done before they could open up the dojo. "Antonio and I went over it and I just want to make sure you understand the basis of what…"

"I'm going to love this job," Lauren interrupted and looked straight at her brother. "I had a blast teaching Troy today. Training didn't even feel like training. It was fun. It came naturally to me. I really want to do this, Jay, and I want to have fun doing this."

"Yeah, I know. I do too. Why do you think I'm sitting through hours of boring class? It's going to pay off eventually. Once we get the dojo going we're going to have a lot of fun. Before that, we really need to buckle down. The paper work is some serious stuff."

"I know. I know it's important but… I just want to have fun. I know I'm kind of throwing money around right now, but I'm not doing anything that's going to hurt us. I know what I'm doing."

"I know how much you paid Mike," Jayden said. Lauren looked down at her hands.

"I've known about the pregnancy for a while. I knew Mike and Emily needed a little extra money. That's why I offered to pay him, and I gave him a little extra because he was a big help, and some more because that was my gift for the baby. The babies."

"I would have done the same. I get it. You just need to talk to me about these things first, especially if I'm going to be the one handling the business side of things."

"You have to trust me a little more."

"I do trust you, Lauren."

She shook her head, "I know the dojo wasn't your idea in the first place, and I'm really happy you're helping me out with it, but right from the start, every time I told you a new idea, you gave me this look and you use this tone of… you're always turning me down. It's like you don't trust I can do this. I… I know I'm new to all this but it's not like I've never been faced with a challenge before. I know it's going to be tough getting the dojo off the ground, but I want it to be fun. I want to have something to do with my baby brother that I love."

Jayden took in a deep breath and nodded, "Sounds fair. Look, I'll relax a bit but I'll need your help too. I need you to think seriously about the dojo sometimes. I want it to be fun, but this isn't a game. We could get into some serious trouble if we don't do things properly."

"Okay," Lauren smiled, "I think I can manage that. But Troy's not paying for lessons. He's moving soon anyways, and he's going to help with renovations. I think that's a fair trade."

"I do too," Jayden said, "And we're going to offer these guys a friends and family discount. I convinced Mia and Kevin to sign Riley up. When Terran's a little older, he's going to join too. We've officially got our first two paying customers."

"You… you really?"

"We have the newest generation of Samurai coming. There are no Nighlok, but we've got no idea what dangers they'll have to face next. Besides, how else are the kids going to learn about their Samurai history?"

Lauren pulled her brother in for a tight hug, "You see, I knew this dojo was a good idea."

"We still need a name for it, though," Jayden chuckled.

"What about Shiba's? You know, like Shiba's Dojo? It's simple and it'll be easy to remember. That would help with business, right?"

"Better than Antonio's goofy ideas," Jayden chuckled, "I like it."

"And our students will be Shibas," Lauren smirked. "It's not the best way to pass down the Shiba powers and techniques, but we know it's not going to die with us."

"We'll have a bunch of little Shibas running around the city?" Jayden shook his head and laughed, "That's cute. Can I make a suggestion, though?"

"Antonio can name his little kitchen whatever he wants… except maybe Garcia's, because then Garcia's will be in Shiba's and that's not an image I want in my head whenever I'm at work."

"Deal," Jayden chuckled, "but it was more to do with the décor. If we're going to train our nieces and nephews, you're going to want to either avoid bonsai altogether, or superglue them to whatever surface you put them on."

"Why?"

"Because in a few years we'll have two little Mike and Emily kids running around, and I am not going to spend a fortune on bonsai."

"Good call."


	69. Fifth Time This Month

_Author's Note: I've had a lot of people ask me, so I'm going to announce it publicly. Yes, I do plan on writing a Megaforce Series, however, I'm going to wait a little before I get started. We don't yet know enough about the team for me to really start anything quite like the Samurai Series. So do look out for it, but it may still be a few weeks before anything is published. Until then, enjoy the Samurai Series!_

Dinner had been fun, but Mike was excited to get to bed. He said goodbye to his guests, goodnight to Serena and James and climbed up the stairs. As soon as he walked into his room, Emily jumped in his arms and almost knocked him on his butt.

"I love you!"

"I love you too," Mike chuckled as he gave her a quick hug and kiss before he pulled away and started to search the room for his pyjamas, "You sound happy."

"Everyone's been great! I feel a million times better about thing one and thing two," Emily pointed to her stomach, "Jayden and Lauren offered me a job at the dojo, Mentor and Kate offered free babysitting… well, everyone else did too, our parents included. Mia's fine with the pregnancy, and she's actually really excited. I promised her to keep her updated on what's going on so she never misses a thing. We're going to be okay. I can really feel it now. We're going to be okay."

"I told you," Mike found his shirt in the laundry. He sniffed it, thought it smelled fine and pulled it over his head, "You just worry about yourself and the kids. Everything else is going to work out for us. By the way, your dad and I finished the rocking chair. It's one more thing to cross off the list."

"Already? That didn't take much time?"

"Not really. Your dad works pretty quickly, and I did have most of it done. Tomorrow I'm going to pain the crib. Any requests?"

"Just white," Emily smiled. She got changed into her pyjamas and then she and Mike crawled into bed. He lay down to sleep, but Emily cuddled into him so he wrapped one arm around her and put his hand on her stomach.

"I'm really happy you're feeling better about this. It's going to be fun."

Emily nodded her head and nestled in closer to her husband, "Want to hear what I've found out?"

"Sure."

"My morning sickness isn't as bad as it was. I didn't feel sick at all tonight. That's the longest I've gone since finding out. I think it was just nerves."

"Let's hope the morning sickness does settle down from now on. You're much easier to handle when you're happy."

"Easier to handle?"

"You know what I mean," Mike kissed the top of Emily's head, "Goodnight, you three. I love you."

-Samurai-

For once, Riley wished she could spend the day with her father instead of her mother. In the morning, while Kevin left for work, Riley was forced to eat her breakfast and get ready quickly. She was going dress shopping again with her mother and her aunts. And this time, the dress wasn't even going to be for her.

So Riley protested. She ate half her breakfast and instead of getting dressed in her clothes, she wore her pink Ranger costume. When she came down the stairs as the pink Ranger, mask, sword and all, Mia shook her head.

"Riley, that costume is for in the house only. Go get changed, we're going to be late."

"I want to wear this."

"Riley…"

"I don't want to go dress shopping. Uncle Jay Jay and Uncle Tonio can babysit me."

"Uncle Jay has classes and Uncle Antonio is working. I'm sorry, Riley, I know this isn't going to be fun, but we don't have a choice. Auntie Lauren and Auntie Emy are coming with us and they might make this interesting."

"No."

"You can bring your pink Ranger teddy with you, and if you're good we'll get ice-cream on the way home," Mia said, "but take off your costume, wear what I picked out for you, and meet me here in five minutes. Go!"

Riley groaned loudly but knew the battle had been lost. She stomped up the stairs angrily to get changed. Mia rubbed her forehead as she waited the five minutes for Riley to come downstairs. When her daughter was changed and ready to leave, Mia took her out to the car and strapped her into the car seat. Just as she was about to close the door, she heard Riley call for her.

"What happens to Pink Teddy if we get into a accident, mommy?"

So Mia strapped in the bear with the seat belt and then drove off to Serena and Emily's house. Emily was sitting on the front steps waiting when they arrived.

"You're late," she muttered as she got into the car. Mia looked into the rear-view mirror.

"Pink Ranger made us late."

"Auntie Emy, I don't want to go dress shopping," Riley said.

Emily looked over her shoulder and smiled, "It's going to be fun, I promise. Mommy's going to freak out."

"I am not."

"You are too," Emily turned to Mia and smirked, "Kevin texted me a list of things to do that'll calm you down before you have a wedding freak out. If things get too boring, I may just forget tip twenty-three, or tip sixteen, or even tip seventy-two."

"Seventy-two? How long is that list? I'm not _that_ crazy."

"We'll see," Emily said and glanced at Riley for a moment to wink. Riley smiled and kicked her feet.

"Mommy's going to go crazy."

-Samurai-

The swimming lessons were picking up. More and more people were coming back or moving to Panorama city now that there hadn't been any strange monster attacks in months, and of those people, a great deal of them wanted to either learn to swim or improve their swimming skills. Kevin had three full classes and a couple more with some spaces yet, but they were all filling up quickly.

He loved his job. Not only did he get to spend the day in the water, but it felt great teaching other people skills that would possibly save their lives. He had spent his entire life protecting other people that now it was relaxing teaching them to protect themselves.

The process wasn't flawless, however. Many of his students, especially the younger ones, were still learning. Kevin had to make a few rescues at work either because kids didn't respect the no running around the pool rule, or they tried out quickly and no longer had the strength to keep their head above water. Fortunately, there had been no serious incident. Kevin made sure to keep all his students close.

Accidents did happen. As Kevin finished up his lesson for the younger students he heard a splash in the water. He had been hearing splashes all day so didn't make much of it. Some kids liked to throw toys in the pool on the way to the change rooms. Others tried to get one more jump in before the end of their lesson. One splash wasn't a big deal.

The splashing continued, and Kevin could tell they were desperate. He turned around and saw that someone had fallen into the pool and for whatever reason couldn't control her swimming. He wouldn't let anything happen on his watch so he swam over, wrapped his arm around her and pulled her to the swallow water. The young woman clung to him desperately as he lifted her and carried her up the ramp and out of the water. Then he set her down on a bench as one of her friends came over with a towel.

"Are you okay?" he knelt before her to check up on her. Her swimming instructor rushed over (fast walk, not run) to be sure his student was okay. When the young woman insisted she had just been freaked out after slipping suddenly, she was free to go to the change room with her friends.

The swim instructor turned to Kevin, "That's the fifth one this month, and they all happen on your watch."

"What does that mean?" Kevin asked. "You know I enforce safety just as much as the other instructors."

"I know, I know. It's just… she's my best swimmer. Just last week she won first place in her high school swim competition. I know these things happen, but this often?"

"Kids will be kids, right? That why we…"

"Five times isn't counting the kids. This month, you've had to pull those girls from the water five times."

"Really?" Kevin asked with a curious look, "That's a little strange, but I'm sure it's nothing. I'll see you after lunch, alright?"

He grabbed his back and his towel from the side of the pool and went to the instructor's change room. He had an hour for lunch and he was starving.


	70. Dream Wedding Plans

"I've always dreamed of matching bridesmaids dresses," Mia explained to Lauren while Emily was in the change room trying on her dress for Mia's wedding. It was a bit of a challenge finding something that would look nice and would still fit on the wedding day, but Mia fortunately knew many places that would accommodate expectant guests at a wedding. Mia shrugged her shoulders and leaned into her seat, "I thought of letting you all wear your own coloured dresses but I like it this way."

"All pink," Lauren nodded. She was wearing the dress Mia had picked out for the bridesmaids and was waiting for Emily to come out so Mia could see if the dress was the right one, or if the girls would have to squeeze out of the dress only to squeeze back into another one.

"When you get married, I'll happily wear red," Mia gave a little smile, "You can hold a bouquet of red flowers, though. What's your favourite?"

"Flower?" Lauren asked and then shrugged her shoulders, "I've never really thought of what my favourite flower was before. It's not really a Samurai essential."

"So then you don't mind holding the roses?" Mia asked. "I want roses at my wedding, and I want someone to carry them. Riley refused because she said the thorns hurt her hands."

Riley, who had been playing with her bear on the floor, looked up. She was bored and desperate for something to do, but fortunately had been allowed to take a seat and let her imagination run wild. Currently, she was imagining that her pink Ranger Teddy was defeating a dress making monster.

"Roses have pointy stems," Riley told her hand, "They want to hurt you. I no trust them at all!"

"I'll make sure they don't prick you," Mia promised. Lauren nodded her head.

"Roses sound perfect."

"Mommy, will Pink Teddy be coming to the wedding?" Riley climbed beside Mia on the bench and put the bear in her lap."

"If you want to bring her, you can," Mia nodded, "I'll reserve a spot right in front so she'll be sitting next to you after you walk down the aisle."

"Then she needs a dress," Riley stated. "We can go buy her a dress after this, okay?"

"Sure," Mia nodded and finally Emily emerged from the change rooms.

"It's a little tight," she said while pointing to her stomach region, "The babies aren't going to like being so restricted."

"I can pay someone to let the dress out a bit just before the wedding," Mia insisted and she got up to have a look at the dress, "It looks gorgeous on you, Emy."

"So is this finally the one?" Emily asked hopefully, and Lauren had the same look in her eye. Both were tired of trying on different types of dresses and couldn't wait to get back into their comfortable clothes. Mia had another look at Emily, then a look at Lauren, and then back to Emily again.

"You're free."

Emily and Lauren both let out a sigh, and together they raced into the change room. Mia chuckled and took a seat on the bench again. Now it was her turn.

Riley let out a breathe, "I know how they feel, mommy."

"All we need is a dress for me and a dress for Pink Teddy and we're done…"

"HA!" Emily laughed from the change room, "You make it sound so simple. Riley, brace yourself. Your mommy isn't going to rest until she finds the perfect dress."

"It doesn't need to be perfect…"

Emily opened the door and poked her head out. She glared at Mia, "Remember that time you and Jayden got fake married? Remember how, even though the wedding and the dress was fake, it still needed to be just right?"

"The wedding needed to be realistic."

"You married my brother?" Lauren's head popped out over Emily's, "This is the first I'm hearing about this."

"She married Jayden eight times," Emily smirked and looked up at Lauren. The red Ranger gasped.

"Why did no one think to tell me that?"

"The weddings weren't real. No one signed the marriage licence and the minister wasn't ordained."

"Wait, if you married my brother and had a wedding dress, why can't we use that one?" Lauren asked Mia, cocking an eyebrow, "Wouldn't that save you time and money?"

"Oh boy," Emily sighed and disappeared back into the change room. Lauren watched her go and then looked back to Mia, who was shaking her head.

"That was a fake dress for a fake wedding. It was just right, but my dress needs to be perfect. I'm only going to have one wedding. I don't want any regrets. Besides, I can't marry Kevin while wearing the dress I married Jayden in. I need a new dress. OH! Speaking of, Emily, I have a job for you! I need something old, something new, something borrowed, and something blue."

"I've got your blue already! You're marrying the blue Ranger! And, technically, your daughter is new and borrowed!"

"Emily, seriously. It's tradition! I can't get married without something old, something borrowed, something…"

"Alright, alright. I'll come up with something," Emily emerged from the change room back in her normal, comfortable clothes and with the dress in hand. She set the dress on a chair and took a seat. She glanced to Riley who rolled her eyes.

"Mommy, you're crazy."

"She said it," Emily pointed to the younger girl.

-Samurai-

Kevin had just finished cleaning up after his final lesson. Fortunately, there had been no near-drowning experiences after his lunch break, and he had even managed to squeeze in a little game time with his class, so he was leaving in a good mood. He got changed out of his swim shorts and dried himself off before he got back into his clothes. He packed up his bag, making sure to fold everything up nicely and walked into the lobby.

"Sir! Sir!" he heard someone calling for him and turned around to see a group of girls, the same group from earlier. The one calling for him had been the one he rescued from the pool, "Look, I just wanted to thank you again for saving me."

"Don't mention it. Just be careful around the water," Kevin gave her a smile, "It can be fun, but also very dangerous."

"I'll be careful," she promised, "but I'm still very grateful."

"We all are," another girl jumped in. "Mackenzie here is, like, our best friend, and if something happened to her, we don't know what we would do. That makes you our hero."

"Seriously, girls, it's my job to make sure all the students are safe in the water. Now if you don't mind, I've got a few errands to run on my way home. I'll see you all next week."

He adjusted his bag on his shoulder and stepped outside, leaving the girls behind. They all looked to each other with big grins. Some of the girls looked like they were about to faint from overwhelming bliss.

"He's so hot! You're so lucky Mackenzie!"

"Luck had nothing to do with it," Mackenzie smirked. "I saw he was still in the pool and _accidently _lost my balance and fell in."

"What did it feel like? When those big, strong arms wrapped around you and pulled you to safety? It must have felt amazing! Oh my god, if that were me, I probably would have died of happiness! C'mon, Mackenzie, you have to spill!"

"I should really thank him," Mackenzie said and twirled her hair around her finger, "He saved my life, and he's so cute. I should ask him to dinner or something, you know? Show him how grateful I am and how amazing I think he is. Do you think he'll say yes?"

"He's totally going to say yes," her friend nodded and the others agreed right away. "Oh, maybe he'll even ask you to be his girlfriend!"

"How amazing would that be?" Mackenzie smiled and started to bounce in excitement, "I can't wait! We're going to be so happy together."

"You're so lucky, Mackenzie."


	71. The Perfect Dress Shopping

Serena joined the girls for their dress shopping after school let out. Between changes for Mia, Serena tried on the dress picked out for her that matched Lauren's and Emily's and found it to be a perfect fit. It made Mia happy, and as she had stated: the fact that the dresses fit and looked great on all three girls meant it had to be the dress for the wedding. It was a sign that they had found perfection.

Mia didn't want to go over the top for her wedding dress, but insisted on keeping as close to tradition as she could, which meant many of her dresses required two people. Mia squeezed inside each dress with help from her maid of honour. It wasn't an easy task, especially with such a small room to get changed in, but they managed. Mia emerged from the change room once the dress was on to get Lauren and Serena's opinions.

"Poof!" Riley voiced her thoughts when she saw her mother come out, "You look fluffy!"

"Seconded," Serena nodded her head, "It's a great dress, but I don't think it's the look you're going for."

Mia turned to the mirror to get a proper look for herself and sighed. She had been certain this would finally be the one. It had looked perfect on the rack, but now that she was wearing it, Riley and Serena did have a point. The dress made her look like she had been eaten by a cotton ball.

"You should try something a little simpler," Lauren suggested and handed Mia the dress she had chosen, "From what I've gathered, you want all eyes on you. The dress can't be a distraction, right?"

"I'll try anything. I'll stay here all night if I have to," Mia said and walked back into the change room with a reluctant Emily following behind. She turned to her sister and her cousin and gave them an angry stare.

"We've been at this for two hours. You couldn't have just said she looked beautiful?"

"Just help her out of the dress, Monster," Serena laughed. Emily closed the door to the change room, but not before sticking out her tongue.

-Samurai-

Jayden dropped his pencil down on the counter and sighed. He had spent his entire day in the dojo filling out forms, reading over documents and talking over the phone to various people who worked for the city. His head was pounding and the words from the paper were starting to spin around him. He took a much needed break and massaged his forehead when he heard a knock at the door. He turned around and recognized Troy – Lauren's first unofficial student. He waved the boy in.

"Sorry, Lauren's not working today," he said, "And the dojo's not technically open."

"Oh… okay," Troy stuck his hands in his pockets, "I just thought I would…"

"She'll be in tomorrow," Jayden assured him. "She's dress shopping with a friend who is getting married. It's a pretty big deal. Trust me."

"That's cool," Troy grabbed the door and started to pull it open, "I thought I would get a little more practice in. I don't really want to head home until later. I guess I'll find somewhere else to go."

Jayden sighed and shrugged his shoulders. He was done with the paperwork for the day, and Antonio wouldn't stop by for another half an hour. He had nothing to lose by taking a break and teaching Troy. "Let's see what you've got, kid."

"Really?" Troy asked with a curious frown, "Sensei Lauren told me you were more of the business man."

"Sensei Lauren may be able to kick my butt," Jayden openly admitted because it was true. His older sister was a much better fighter than him in every way – mainly due to her experience and her extensive training. However, when it came to teaching, Jayden had an edge. He had been the leader of the Samurai Rangers for far longer than Lauren, and had picked up on a few different skills when it came to teaching that Lauren still had to learn. He didn't have as much skill as Lauren, but he definitely knew how to pass on what he knew to his students.

He grabbed a training dummy and brought it to the center of the room, "Five minutes, show me what you've got. Give my friend the biggest ass-kicking of his life, and we'll go from there."

"You want me to fight a dummy?" Troy asked. "I'm used to sparing and…"

"I want to see what kind of fighter you are before I get started on lessons," Jayden said, "before my sister and I opened this dojo, I helped train five of my friends. Each of them had a different style and needed to be trained differently. If I'm going to train you to be the best warrior you can be, I need to know what type of warrior you are. Five minutes on the dummy. Give it all you've got."

Troy dropped his bag and nodded his head. He approached the dummy, bowed before it, and then started his attack while Jayden crossed his arms over his chest and watched.

-Samurai-

Mia had been in the change room for half an hour, and Lauren and Serena were starting to get worried something had happened. They hadn't heard a sound from Mia in all that time, and all they heard from Emily were soft whispers.

Nervously, Serena got up and knocked on the change room door, "Mia? Emy? You two okay in there? No one's suffocated in wedding dress fluff?"

The door opened just a few inches as Emily squeezed her way out. She closed the door once she was passed and looked up at her sister.

"Mia won't stop crying."

"Crying?" Lauren asked as she and Riley came over, holding hands. "Why is Mia crying?"

"I don't know. I tried asking her, but she can't get it out. I thought I was supposed to be the hormonal one."

Finally, the door opened behind Emily and Mia walked out. Her face was stained with her tears but the girls didn't notice that at all when they saw the dress she was wearing. Mia turned to the mirror, wiped her eyes with the back of her wrist and smiled brightly, "It's perfect."

"You cry like that when it's perfect?" Emily rolled her eyes, "This is going to be a long wedding…"

"Mommy, it's okay!" Riley wrapped her arms around Mia's legs. She hated to see her mother so upset. "You no have to marry Kevin!"

Mia picked up her daughter and hugged her, "I want to, sweetie. I'm crying because I'm so happy. This dress is perfect. This dress just feels… it feels like everything's going to be so perfect."

"You're getting that from a dress?" Lauren muttered and she was nudged in the ribs by Serena. The white Ranger glared at the red before she looked to Mia in the mirror and gave her a bright smile.

"The dress looks amazing. Kevin is… one amazingly lucky man, Mia."

"Now you just have to pick," Emily said as she came over with a veil in one hand and a tiara in the other, "Which do you want?"

"Tiara," Mia insisted and reached without hesitation for the tiara, "This is my fairy tale wedding. The princess always wears a tiara to her wedding."

Mia put the tiara on her head and looked in the mirror. Riley gasped when she finally saw her mother dressed up completely as the bride.

"Mommy, you're so pretty!"

"Thank you, sweetheart," Mia gave her daughter a kiss before setting her down. She then took the tiara off, "I think it's decided. This is the dress. These are our dresses. We're officially done dress shopping!"

"Ahem!" Riley cleared her throat and held up her bear, "You said she was allowed to come to the wedding!"

"Right," Mia nodded. "Let me just get out of this dress, then we're going to pay for our dresses and then we'll buy your teddy her wedding dress."

Riley smiled and hugged her bear.

Mia told Emily she wouldn't need help slipping out of this dress (another sign it was the perfect dress), so Emily was free to pay for her dress with Serena and Lauren while Mia got changed. Just as she was about to pick up her dress, though, Mia put her hand on it. Emily looked up.

"I've got to take it to the cash, Mia. You don't want me in sweats at the wedding…"

"I've got this dress," Mia smiled. "I know you and Mike are saving up, and since Serena already bought you everything you needed for the baby, it's the least I can do."

"Really?"

Mia nodded, "In fact, I think you're saving me money. I'd have probably spent more on the twins to compensate for the fact that I'll never be able to splurge on my own baby."

"Riley might like having a brother or sister," Emily shrugged. "Are you sure, Mia? It's your wedding and Mike and I took this into account when we were…"

"I insist. Now, how about you and Riley get a head start on finding teddy bear wedding dresses. We'll catch up."

Emily gave Mia a quick hug, thanking her for the generous gift. Then she took Riley by the hand and started to walk out of the store. Riley looked up at her aunt and noticed she had started crying as well.

"You too? Dress shopping was a bad idea."

"I'm really happy, Riley."

"When I'm really happy, I smile. Grown-ups are weird."

Emily nodded her head and dropped down to her knees before Riley. She gently grabbed Riley's arms and looked straight at her, "You landed on your feet, kid."

"Sometimes I land on my face and it hurts," Riley shook her head, "But mommy puts ice on my head and I feel better."

Emily chuckled, "I meant… this family is an amazing family. You're so lucky to grow up with so many people who are just… nice people. Very nice people."

"I know," Riley smiled, "Mommy's nice, and even Kevin is nice. I used to think he was a meanie, but he teached me to swim and we have lots of fun together. So he's nice now."

"I really mean it, Riley. You're so lucky," Emily got back to her feet and took her niece's hand, "Let's go get your teddy bear a dress. And, I hear someone's birthday is coming up. How about we get you something yellow?"

"Yellow? Yuck! Yellow's a stupid colour. I want a blue Ranger Teddy!"

"A blue Ranger?"

"And can he wear a fuxedo?"

"A… a what?"

"A fuxedo," Riley said. "Kevin said he was going to buy one for the wedding."

"A… A tuxedo?"

"Pink Teddy is going to have to get married too. She needs a husband. If they get married, blue Teddy will need a fuxedo."

"I'll buy you a blue Ranger Teddy and he'll wear a _t_uxedo. How does that sound?"

"Yay!" Riley skipped as they walked to the store.


	72. Birthday Bash

Riley woke up that Saturday morning with joy she only felt twice a year: Christmas and her birthday. Today wasn't technically her birthday, but because her parents had planned a wedding on her birthday, this Saturday had been turned into her birthday. Her new family was coming over to celebrate her, there would be a little cake (nothing like the one she would get on her actual birthday, but it was chocolate), she would get her birthday presents, and she would play games. Essentially, she was queen for the day, and no one could bring her down.

With a cry of excitement, she burst into her parents' bedroom and jumped on their bed, "Wake up! Wake up! Today's my birthday party day! Wake up!"

She dove between her parents and, using Mia as leverage, pushed Kevin off the bed with her feet. Kevin rolled off the bed with a startled cry.

"Riley!" Mia sat up after seeing and hearing what happened to her fiancé, "That's not nice."

"You guys have to get up! You promised today was going to be special! Hurry up! Everyone is going to be here soon?"

"Not until eleven," Kevin muttered. He pulled himself up to his feet using the bed and grabbed Riley. He put her over his shoulder and walked with her downstairs. He dropped her on the couch and then left her behind as he went to the kitchen to get his coffee.

"Another Saturday ruined," he sighed. He waited for the coffee to brew, and got about five seconds of peace before Riley wrapped her arms around his leg and started bouncing enthusiastically.

"Where are my presents? When is everyone going to get here? Are we going to play games? I can't wait to blow out my candles! Let's play a game now! Kevin! Kevin! Kevin!"

Kevin ignored his daughter. The coffee finished brewing so he poured himself a cup and limped to the table, dragging Riley with him.

"I want a birthday crown! Can you make me one? Kevin? Kevin, I want a birthday crown! A pink one! Please, Kevin. I can't be the birthday queen without a crown!"

"MIA!" Kevin called as Mia came down the stairs pulling her shirt over her head.

"Riley, you know you're supposed to leave Kevin alone until after he has his coffee."

"But… today is special."

"It will be," Mia pulled out Riley's chair at the table and told her to sit, "What do you want for breakfast?"

"Ice-cream!"

"Easy enough," Mia opened up the freezer, grabbed a tub of ice-cream, and put a scoop into a bowl for Riley. Just as an extra birthday treat, she added sprinkles on top. Riley was in heaven when her breakfast was placed before her.

"Best birthday ever!" she screamed before digging in. Kevin winced and took another sip of his coffee while Mia got started on a real (and healthy) breakfast for herself and Kevin.

Halfway through her bowl, Riley heard the doorbell ring. Her aunts and uncles weren't supposed to arrive until eleven and it was only eight in the morning. Riley couldn't tell time, assumed it was them, and ran to the door. She opened it, but found herself staring up at a group of strangers.

"I don't know you," she said and started to close the door. Kevin rushed up behind her and stopped the door with his hand. He took Riley in his arms and welcomed the group into the house. His parents, Mia's mother and her grandmother stepped inside. As they took off their jackets and their boots, Kevin set Riley down on the stairs.

"Don't you remember your grandparents? You met them once before."

"No," Riley shook her head, "I don't. Who invited them?"

"They're your grandparents," Kevin chuckled. "They love you, and they want to celebrate your birthday with you."

"We brought presents," Noa held up a couple gift bags.

"Okay, they can stay," Riley nodded. She jumped down from the stairs, took the two bags and then saw her other grandparents had two bags each as well. She turned around and looked at Kevin, "I already love them!"

She collected the bags, carrying as many as she could on each trip to the living room while her grandparents gathered in the kitchen. There was no Christmas tree to put the presents under, so Riley placed them all under the television. Then she joined the adults in the kitchen and had a look around.

For the most part, she could tell who was who. It looked like she had a grandmother and a grandfather from Kevin's side of the family, and then two grandmothers from Mia's side. She gave her pink ancestors a curious look.

"Are you gay?"

"What?" Mako laughed and shook her head, "Sweetheart, where does a question like that come from?"

"It's okay if you are," Riley assured them, "My uncle Jay Jay and my uncle Tonio are gay and I love them."

Mia pulled Riley up on her lap, "They aren't gay, sweetie. Sobo is my grandma, and…"

"I'm grandma," Noa whispered, somewhat reluctantly as she glared at Christina.

"Grandma is my mom," Mia said with a bit of a laugh. "Sobo is actually your great grandmother."

"Why?"

"Because she's my grandma."

"But what makes her so great?"

"I got you the best birthday present of all."

"If that's true, then okay," Riley smiled. She turned to her other set of grandparents, "What about you? Are you great?"

"Just gran and gramps," Patrick said.

Riley looked to them sympathetically, "That's too bad."

-Samurai-

"We're not going to be late," Mike assured Serena as she, James, and Terran got into the car, leaving Mike and Emily behind which meant they would have to walk to Mia and Kevin's house by themselves. Serena gave Mike a suspicious glare but he shrugged it off. "We have to make a few stops on the way. If you drive us, we'll just be holding you back, and I'm sure Riley can't wait to dress Terran up in whatever princess costumes she has."

"Poor boy," James sighed and looked in the rear-view mirror to see Terran in his car-seat, completely unaware of the humiliation he was going to have to face later in his life. "I had an older sister, buddy. Don't worry, it turns you into a man… eventually."

"Just don't be too long, and keep your phones with you."

"We'll be fine," Emily smiled. She gave her sister a kiss on the cheek before sending her off. She then took Mike's hand and gave him a smile, "Thanks. It's going to be crazy at the party. I just needed some peace and quiet."

"No problem," Mike returned the smile as they started walking slowly down the sidewalk, "You know, I didn't know one year olds could have nightmares. Poor kid."

Emily nodded her head. She had had a rough night. Her morning sickness was less and less severe as the pregnancy went on, but she didn't have the luxury of saying it had disappeared. She had stayed up late feeling nauseous and puked into the toilet and sink a couple of times before finally crawling into bed. Just as she had been about to get some sleep, Terran woke up screaming and it took hours to calm him down. He knew a few words, but none to explain to his parents or his aunt and uncle what had woken him up in the middle of the night and what made him scream.

Eventually, they assumed Terran had had a nightmare thanks to Storm, who hung around his bedroom whining and tried to cuddle with him every chance she got. Storm was experienced in treating nightmares – having done so many times with Emily. Storm did to Terran as she did to Emily, which is what led everyone to believe he had had a bad dream. By the time everyone figured that out, and knew Terran was okay, they had only a few hours to sleep.

"What do you think his nightmare was about?" Emily asked.

Mike shrugged his shoulders, "He probably just lost his favourite toy or something. That's a pretty scary deal for him. James washed his blanket when you were out dress shopping and Terran screamed for hours because he couldn't find it. Poor kid was traumatized."

"How did you calm him down?"

"Took the blanket out of the dryer," Mike chuckled. "He's getting harder to fool. He'll be too smart for us, soon."

"Then what?" Emily asked and touched her stomach, "What do you do when the kid is too smart for the parents?"

"Wing it?" Mike shrugged. "I swear, that's what my parents did with me. What about you? When you were being a smart-ass, how did your parents deal with it?"

"Me? A smart-ass? Mike, I almost failed kindergarten… what if that's what happens with our kids? You never finished high school, and I can't even get organized enough to finish any online courses."

"Em, our kids will be fine. You never give yourself enough credit."

"What if our kids do that?" Emily looked up at Mike worriedly. "What if they take after me? What if they grow up feeling like I did? My parents did all they could for me, they really, really tried. Even Serena was amazing, but growing up always… sucked. What if our kids feel that way? Mike it was miserable…"

"Emily," he grabbed by the arms and looked into her eyes, "You weren't confident. I was overconfident. You have to remember, my genes are in there too. The kids are going to be fine. Besides, they'll always have each other."

Emily nodded her head and sighed, "I guess you're right. I just… I worry sometimes, you know. There's so much we can't control. So much we won't be able to do for them."

"It worries me too," Mike wrapped his arms around Emily, "but we're going to be there for our kids, no matter what. I mean, hey, we loved Terran and he was born half Nighlok. Our kids can't possibly be that bad, right?"

"Now they will be," Emily groaned, "Mike, you need to know when to shut up. You just jinked it. They're going to be twin terrors."

"We'll be able to handle them. There's nothing they'll be able to do that I haven't done or tried before. And if they do get too bad, we'll send them to boot camp."

"Boot camp!"

"Yeah, a week with Aunt Serena should straighten them out," Mike teased. Emily shoved him playfully.

-Samurai-

"Left, Riley, go left!"

"No, right! Go right!"

"Left!"

"Don't listen to them. Sobo and Grandma aren't on your team! Right, sweetie, right!"

Riley pulled off her blindfold and turned around to face her grandparents, "I don't know what side is left or right."

"This is the most intense game of pin the tail on the donkey I've ever seen," Kevin muttered as he watched the grandparents play with Riley. Mia shrugged her shoulders.

"I've seen worse."

The doorbell rang and she left to answer it. Kevin gave her a look before turning back to the game. Riley had put her blindfold on and it seemed her grandparents had already helped her decipher her left and right. Following instructions, Riley got closer and closer to the poster of the donkey, and did manage to pin the tail close enough to the target.

"We win!" Patrick cried as he jumped out of his seat. He took the plastic gold medals Mia had bought for the party and put one around his neck. He gave one to his wife and passed the final one to Riley, "We make an awesome team, don't we, kiddo?"

Riley smiled and nodded her head, "Let's play again. This time, I want to be on Sobo and Grandma's team."

"Someone's celebrating a birthday!" Antonio burst into the room carrying a rainbow of balloons for the little birthday girl, with the rest of the Samurai right behind him. Riley turned around, spotted her aunts and uncles and her jaw hit the floor in awe. She was instantly captured by all the balloons and the presents they had brought in with them.

"Best birthday ever!" she screamed happily and bounced excitedly. She tried to grab all the balloons, but Antonio wouldn't let them go. He had gone a little overboard with the number of balloons and seeing as they were all filled with helium, and Riley was a small girl, he was worried that she would float to the ceiling if she took them all herself. He kept a hold of the string and walked with her to attach them something sturdy and heavy enough to weigh them down.

"Try driving with all those balloons in the car," Jayden muttered to Kevin.

"Especially when one pops," Lauren rolled her eyes.

Kevin chuckled, but then saw Kate desperately combing through her hair with her fingers.

"You okay?"

"Two words," Kate grumbled, "Static electricity. That pop wasn't an accident. The balloon was asking for it."

"Can we open presents?" Riley asked, seeing a lot of people were now at her party, she assumed it was time. She looked to her mother and shook her head.

"After cake. I told you this, Riley. You need to be patient."

"Besides, we're missing two guests," Serena whispered in Mia's ear, "Mike and Emily insisted on walking."

"Why?"

"You tell me."

"Lauren!" Riley cried and pushed through the crowd to find her aunt. She took Lauren's hand and pulled her towards the couch where her grandparents were seated, "Auntie Lauren, look, I have grandparents!"

Riley tugged on Lauren's arm, asking her to bend down to whisper in her ear, "Sobo and grandma aren't gay."

"I… okay," Lauren nodded her head slowly and looked up at Mako and Noa, "What…"

"She doesn't understand the family tree yet," Noa chuckled.

"And Sobo's a great grandma. I don't know what makes her so great. She looks like a normal grandma to me."

"See."

Lauren nodded her head, "Got it. Hey, Riles, if we're quiet, I've got a little present in the car, you can sneak a peek at it if you want?"

"Really?" Riley asked. Lauren put her finger over her lips and nodded her head. Riley did the same and started to tip-toe to the door. She walked right past Mia but assumed that because she was quiet and because she was on her tip-toes, Mia didn't notice her.

"Where are you going?" Mia asked Lauren.

"I've got something special for my goddaughter and I wanted to give it to her in private. She'll surprise you with it later, I promise."


	73. Riley's Birthday Party

As luck would have it, it began to snow on Mike and Emily's way to Riley's birthday party, but Mike didn't care. He lifted the collar of his jacket to keep warm but continued walking at a slower pace. His wife held his arm and leaned against him comfortably, stealing some of his heat, but again he didn't care. He continued to walk with a smile, admiring the view before him.

"Snow globe snow," Emily chuckled and Mike looked down at her. She had had a moment of panic about their pregnancy, but it had passed. He liked to think of her shifting mood as part of the hormones taking over her body. Since announcing the pregnancy, she had been much happier, and much more excited for the day she would become a mother to twins – however, she still had her doubts. Mike couldn't blame her; he was worried too. He had a lot to be worried about given who he was and how much of that would be passed on to his kids. He had been flattered when Jack wished he had a son that turned out to be exactly like him, but the thought terrified him as well. Mike knew how much of a terror he had been and still was.

"What?"

"Snow globe snow," Emily pointed out to the streets, "You see how it's falling slowly, like it's taking it's time. That's how snow falls in a snow globe. Isn't it beautiful?"

Mike kept his eyes on Emily and nodded his head. He had never not liked her, and there was no way he could ever stop loving her, but now that they had come to terms with the pregnancy and were getting excited for all the good and bad times it would bring, there was something different about her. It made him love her more. Not only was she Emily, and his Emily – his wife – but while she was pregnant, she carried his children. She was everything he loved and more.

"Yeah."

"We should stop for hot chocolate," Emily insisted with her smile still on her face, "We can get Riley a gingerbread man too. There's never too much sugar one a little girl's birthday. There's never too much sugar when you're not the parent. You know Mia's going to do it to us when the twins are born."

"Hot chocolate sounds…" Mike trailed off and Emily looked up. His eyes were fixed on something in the distance so she followed his gaze and saw him staring down the sidewalk at three people. They turned, spotted her and Mike and one of the men raised his hands to wave.

"No way!" Mike cried and pulled away from Emily to rush over. Emily stood where she was, watching as Mike gave both the men of the group a warm, friendly, brother-like hug. It was obvious he knew them and they were good friends. Finally, he turned to her, calling her over.

"Em! It's Matthew and Reese!"

"Your best friends," Emily nodded and walked over, joining the group. Mike, Matthew, and Reese had been great friends before Mike had to leave them behind to be a Samurai. When he first arrived to the Shiba House, he mentioned them daily, and had even disobeyed direct orders to go see them before he grasped the importance of protecting loved ones by staying away. She gave Matthew and Reese a smile before turning to the girl Reese had his arm around. Her jaw almost hit the ground, "Amanda?"

"This is a strange coincidence," Amanda, Jayden's past girlfriend chuckled and reached out to hug Emily, "It's been a long time."

"You two know each other?" Reese asked. The Amanda went to hug Mike. Reese frowned, "You know Mike? Mike, you know my girlfriend?"

"You know Jayden, my ex?" Amanda chuckled and hugged Reese reassuringly. Her boyfriend got jealous from time to time but she always found it cute. He never went overboard, and whenever he was intimidated by another man he would always try to act a lot tougher than he actually was. "Mike is good friends with Jayden."

"Is that who you've been hanging out with instead of us?" Matthew asked, crossing his arms over his chest, "Dude, you fell off the face of the Earth for a while. What happened to you? Where did you go?"

"Sorry, guys. Somethings just happened and I got so caught up. I promise, it's not going to happen again. Everything's sorted, I've got my shit together and I'll make it up to you, I swear."

"You better," Reese punched Mike lightly in the shoulder. Then he looked over to Emily, "So, I'm not the only one with a girlfriend, I see."

"Wife," Mike corrected and he wore a guilty look on his face. Matthew and Reese turned to him with their mouths open.

"You got married? To… to… that?"

"Hey…" Emily frowned. She crossed her arms over her chest and tried to hid in her jacket. Mike wrapped his arms around her.

"They meant that as a compliment, Em. I don't lie when I tell you you're hot."

"Well, they didn't make it sound that way," Emily muttered and then grabbed Amanda by the arm, "The hot chocolate place is just around the corner. We'll give you three sometime to catch up, but not too much. Riley's not going to be happy if we're late."

"Got it!" Mike nodded and waved goodbye to his wife before turning back to his friends. He shut their mouths, "It's winter; there are no flies to catch."

"Seriously? You're married to…" Reese had to double take as he watched Emily and Amanda walk off, "You're a spy, aren't you? You're loaded."

"I'm not a spy. I got lucky."

"And didn't invite us to the wedding?" Matthew asked. Mike shook his head and sighed.

"I thought about it guys," it wasn't a total lie. He had thought of his friends at the wedding and did wish they could attend, but for their own protection he had to keep them out of his life, "It was a small wedding on her family's farm. Family only… and mostly hers. My parents barely made it in time."

"Just tell us all about it, and maybe buy us a couple of pizzas while we're at it. What do you say we get together and hang out just like old times? You owe us, dude."

"I know, I know, but I have a party to get to," Mike nodded. He held out his hand and waved to his friends to give them their cell phones, "This is my number. Call me and we'll set something up real soon. I'll even bring over some of the new kick-ass video games I've collected. And, you'll tell me just how a dork like you ended up with Amanda."

"I have my ways," Reese smirked.

Mike turned to Matthew, "What about you? Keeping your girl in hiding?"

"None yet," Matthew shook his head, "But I don't mind being available. More freedom and my pockets are a little heavier because I don't have to spoil anyone with Valentine's Day presents."

"A woman came up with this tradition, I swear," Reese grumbled, "That or one man screwed it up for the rest of us."

"Probably a bit of both," Mike chuckled.

-Samurai-

Riley was in the car with Lauren, watching and waiting impatiently as her aunt dug through several bags in the backseat to retrieve a birthday present she promised Riley would love. Eventually, Lauren found what she was looking for, and held out a box wrapped in decorated paper.

"Before I give this to you, I want to explain."

"Explain?" Riley asked. Lauren nodded her head.

"This isn't a toy gift, but I know you're really going to like it. You know how mommy is a Power Ranger, right?"

"The pink Ranger," Riley nodded her head and smiled brightly, "My mommy is the greatest Power Ranger ever."

"And you know I'm the red Ranger."

"The girl red, right?" Riley asked, "Because I know there's a boy red Ranger."

"Yeah," Lauren chuckled and nodded, "I'm the girl Ranger. Now, have mommy and Kevin talked to you about the dojo Uncle Jay and I are making?"

"I'm going to take lessons," Riley nodded excitedly, "I'm going to learn to kick bum and be a Power Ranger good guy! Just like mommy."

"I'm going to give you your first lesson here. A little bit of preparation, before you start, because you're going to need a little help."

"I am?"

"The Samurai Rangers started centuries ago. That's a long, long time ago."

"Like once upon a time?"

"Yeah. Once upon a time, Mia's ancestors and Kevin's ancestors were the first ever blue and pink Samurai Rangers."

"What's an ancestor?"

"A really old grandparent."

"Oh."

"Mia and Kevin's grandparents fought off evil monsters, just like Mia and Kevin do now. Only, a long long time ago, the monsters weren't completely defeated. They kept coming back."

"Why?"

"Because no one was strong enough to destroy them for good," Lauren gave Riley a comforting smile, "Don't worry, kiddo, they aren't going to come back. Mommy, Kevin, and all the other Samurai Rangers were strong enough this time."

"That's good. What happened if they weren't strong enough?"

"The first Rangers got too old when the monsters came back," Lauren said, "So they told their kids it was their turn to fight. The kids took on the powers and they fought evil. For a really long time, that's what happened. Every parent would one day pass on their powers to the next generation."

"That's so cool!" Riley smiled, "So is it my turn?"

"Almost," Lauren nodded, "The monsters are all gone now, so hopefully you're never going to have to be a Samurai Ranger, but that doesn't mean we want the line the end. But there's a little problem. One that's a bit tricky to fix, but not impossible."

"Mommy and Kevin aren't my real mommy and daddy, right?"

"Exactly," Lauren nodded her head. "It's not the first time this has happened, but it's been rare and it takes a lot of hard work for the Samurai legacy to be passed to a non-biological child. It'll take generations before the power is completely restored in your family, and you're never going to have completely mastery over your Symbol Power, no matter how hard you train."

"What?"

"This is going to be hard."

"Oh. So, am I going to be the pink Ranger or not?"

"Hopefully, one day, you'll have enough power in case something does go wrong," Lauren nodded her head, "but no matter what, I'm going to help you be the very best Samurai you can ever be, and that starts with this."

Lauren finally put the present in Riley's lap. The little girl tore the paper off in seconds and lifted the lid from the box. She threw it aside and looked inside the box, "I get a phone?"

Riley took the Samuraizer and opened it up. She started dialling numbers, pretending to make a call. Lauren snatched the Samuraizer from her hand.

"This isn't a toy, Riley. This is a very, very important tool. One day, you're going to learn how to use it properly. For now, it's not to be messed with."

"You gived me a toy I can't play with," Riley pouted, "That's no fun."

Lauren bit her lip. It was a little underwhelming for Riley. When Lauren had received her Samuraizer, it had been a big occasion, but she had been raised to know exactly what it was. Riley was still young and very new to the Samurai clan.

She knew what to say to make it special to Riley, though, "This was the pink Ranger's special Samuraizer. It's what made Mia turn into the pink Ranger you love so much."

"Really?"

"And it's yours now. With a little help from your uncle Antonio, I reprogrammed it so that once you do start learning Symbol Powers, it'll be easier to draw the power from inside of you and then unleash it."

"Stop using big words. I'm not five _yet._"

"This is super special and made just for you," Lauren chuckled. She placed the Samuraizer in Riley's hand, "Don't mess around with it, but you can go back inside and show mommy and Kevin. Tell them Auntie Lauren made it very special just for you. Then, when I go home, I'm going to take it back."

"You're taking back my present?"

"It'll be at the dojo, and no one will be allowed to touch it but you."

"I guess that's okay," Riley said. She hugged the Samuraizer to her chest, "Thank you, Auntie Lauren. This is the best not-toy present I ever got. I am getting a toy, though, right?"

"Yes, I still bought you a toy. One you're really, really going to love."

"Yay!" Riley gave her aunt a hug and then climbed out of the car, "Best birthday ever!"

She ran inside the house with her Samuraizer in hand. She listened to her aunt's words and didn't play with it while she showed it off to everyone at the party – announcing she was going to be the newest pink Ranger. After that, she gave the Samuraizer back to Lauren and made her swear no one would ever get to play with it but her.

Then it was time for lunch. Mike and Emily showed up just in time for the pizza (naturally). After pizza came the cake. The family, happily, sung happy birthday to Riley and cheered when she blew out all five candles in one breath.

Finally, it was the best time of the day for Riley. Presents were dropped in her lap and she tore them all open with cries of excitement. She celebrated each and every present and seemed very happy with all her gifts. By the end of it, her excitement was all over the floor. While Riley and all her party guests celebrated by eating cake, Kevin couldn't stop himself from cleaning up the wrapping and tissue paper Riley had thrown all over the kitchen floor. He filled up two garbage bags with the paper alone and wanted to take it outside so it wouldn't clutter up the house.

"Kevin, hey!" he heard as he opened the garage door. He turned to the sidewalk and saw Mackenzie, a student who took lessons at the pool he worked at. He gave her a wave and a smile, but nothing more. She seemed to take it as an invitation to walk up his driveway.

"Kevin, look, I've been thinking a lot about what happened the other day."

"About… Oh, my pulling you out of the water? Seriously, Mackenzie, I'd have done it for anyone, it's my job."

"I'm just, I'm really thankful and I was wondering if… I could treat you to dinner or something. You know, just to say thank you."

"I don't think that would be appropriate," Kevin shook his head. Mackenzie looked hurt, but persisted.

"I'm eighteen! I know technically you're an instructor and I'm a student, but there's no rule against dinner. And besides…"

"It's not that, Mackenzie. I don't save people's lives for favours. It was the right thing to do. And I don't think my fiancée would approve of me going out to dinner with another woman so close to our wedding."

"Your fiancée?"

Kevin nodded his head, "I appreciate the offer, Mackenzie, but I'm going to have to turn it down. I will see you at the pool on Monday, though. Maybe, if you have time, over my lunch I can give you and your friends a free lesson on water survival. You know, just in case you catch yourself by surprise again and land in the water. I won't always be around to rescue you."

"Yeah, okay," Mackenzie looked to her feet and turned away, "I get it. Sure, I'll see you Monday."

"Kevin!" Mia called from the front door and waved him inside, "We're about to start a game. Come inside before you get stuck on the loser side!"

"We are not the loser side," Mike called as he leaned over Mia's shoulder to call out to Kevin, "Your fiancé's just jealous because our team rocks at duck, duck goose."

Kevin looked to Mackenzie, "I've got to go. Really, Mack, I appreciate the offer, but sorry. See you Monday!"

Kevin dropped his garbage bags into the garage, closed the doors and then ran back inside the house. Mackenzie stood in the driveway and glared at the house.

She hated Mia with a passion. She wasn't right for Kevin. Kevin was her soul-mate. They were destined to be together.

Inside the house, Emily had been looking out the window and saw Mackenzie storming off while Mike, Mia, and Kevin came back inside.

"Who was that?"

Kevin shrugged his shoulders, "She takes lessons at the pool. She slipped the other day and I had to rescue her. She's really thankful."

"She doesn't look very thankful to me," Emily muttered.

"She asked me to dinner and I had to turn her down," Kevin answered. "It wouldn't be right."

"She asked you to dinner?" Mia asked.

"I turned her down."

"You don't see anything wrong with any of this?" Emily asked Kevin. "Don't you guys notice those big, desperate eyes? I was watching, and she likes you."

"That's a little creepy, Emily."

"What?"

"I saved her from drowning."

"You saved me from downing once. I never asked you to dinner."

"I'm her hero."

Emily shook her head and sighed, "Whatever. She's your problem. Can we get this game started now? The winning team was promised a second serving of cake, and the twins are hungry."


	74. Growing Families

Riley spent the entire day celebrating and she was tuckered out. She played with the many dolls she had received as birthday presents from her family and had even set up a tea party, forcing some of her aunts and uncles to play. She couldn't stay awake long enough to pour the tea, so Mia and Kevin decided it was time for her to go to bed.

"Best birthday ever," Riley muttered with a smile as she was lifted into Mia's arms and carried off to bed. She was already asleep by the time Mia reached the stairs. Kevin started to clean up some of the toys. He loved his daughter, and knew with a kid around that the house would never be anywhere near as clean as he wanted it, but he could at least keep it tidy.

Mike propped his feet up, not ready to leave anytime soon. He leaned back into the couched, put his hands behind his head to relax and then turned to Jayden, "By the way, you're never going to guess who we bumped into today."

"Who?" Jayden asked and wondered why he was being singled out. He liked to think he had made vast improvements with his social skills since meeting his Samurai family, but there was no one he knew outside the group that the group didn't also know just as well, maybe better.

"Amanda."

Except her. Jayden had a surprised look on his face and then smiled. His relationship with Amanda had been great, their break-up not-so-much, but he had reached out to her and made amends before all was lost and so hearing the news that she was still in town, and still alive was good news.

"We bumped into her on the way here," Emily nodded her head.

"And you'll never guess who she's dating… ow! What, Em? He's getting married to Antonio, I think he's moved on," Mike turned to Jayden with a smirk, "You know my old friends Matthew and Reese?"

"Them?"

"Well, Reese," Mike nodded his head. "I'm not sure how it happened, but dude, isn't that crazy? My best friend and your ex."

"Who is Amanda?" Lauren asked, turning to glare at her brother. Jayden shrugged his shoulders.

"She was my girlfriend before Antonio."

"Jayden's first love," Serena teased and pinched Jayden's cheeks playfully, "Aw, I almost forgot all about her. I'm glad she was able to move on."

"Yeah, me too," Jayden said with a little nod of his head. "But… seriously? How does she go from dating me to dating… well, his best friend?"

As Jayden pointed to him, Mike realized he had a spot of cake stained on his shirt. Instead of dismissing it, he thought he get the stain out (or at least the flavour) by putting the spot in his mouth. Emily smacked him in the chest.

"Hey," Mike looked up at Jayden with a frown, "Reese was never a bad guy. Amanda's really lucky to be with him."

"I'm not saying he's a bad guy. I'm just saying…" Jayden shrugged and smirked, "She didn't upgrade."

"You won that break-up, huh?" Antonio smiled and wrapped his arm around Jayden's shoulder. "I am an upgrade, right?"

"Eh," Jayden waved his hand dismissively and earned himself a shove and a sad pout from his fiancé, "Aw, Antonio, of course I upgraded."

"Well, unless my brother has married or dated any other girls and hasn't told me about it, I think I need to head home," Lauren said, suppressing a yawn as much as she could, "I promised Troy he could spend the day at the dojo so I've got to be there early."

"Maybe we should all turn in," Serena suggested and could hear Kevin has moved his clean-up party of one into the kitchen where he had gotten started on the dishes, "I'm sure the birthday parents are just as tired as the birthday girl. Terran should probably sleep in his own bed anyways."

Serena gestured to the floor, where a tired Terran had made a nest for himself out of blankets and pillows. He was sound asleep, and had been that way for a couple of hours in spite of the noise level in the house. James went to collect his son while Serena led the other Samurai to the door as they all agreed it was time to go home.

Only the grandparents were spending the night, and would be staying until the day of the wedding. The countdown had begun, and they wanted to do all they could to help their children on one of the biggest days of their lives. Noa continued cleaning up the living room a little more while Patrick and Christina helped their son in the kitchen. Mako went upstairs and found Mia quietly working around Riley's room and finding a place for some of the toys that had made their way upstairs through the day.

"She is precious," Mako whispered so as not to disturb the sleeping Riley. Mia had her back to her grandmother and didn't bother turning around.

"Yeah, she's amazing."

"Mia? Is everything okay?" Mako walked over to her granddaughter slowly. Mia shrugged her shoulders.

"When I was getting Riley in her pyjamas, she asked me something. She knows there's something about her grandparents that is a little off."

"Like what?"

"She asked why Kevin had a mother and a father and why I didn't."

"What did you tell her?"

"She fell back to sleep before I could give her an answer. I really wish he could be here, Sobo."

"Your father would have been very proud of you, princess," Sobo wrapped her arms around Mia. "Very, very proud."

"I still… I feel bad about this. It hasn't even been that long since he died and I've done so many things that he'll never know. He'll never know I was engaged when he died, or that I'm getting married. He'll never know the war against the Nighlok is finally over. He'll never meet his granddaughter."

"It is unfortunate," Mako nodded her head, "but your life shouldn't stop because he is gone. He wouldn't want that."

"I know. I just… I really wish he could have met her, even once. Or met Kevin or…"

"He would have loved them both," Sobo assured Mia with a loving squeeze. "Now, dry your eyes, princess. I hear you've chosen a dress and I'd love to have a look."

-Samurai-

"You said we can stay here for as long as we needed, right?"

James turned around and looked down, finding Emily staring up at him with her puppy eyes. He groaned and took a sip of coffee. It was too early for her manipulation.

"Am I going to regret saying that?"

"Mike and I did the math."

"Aren't you both terrible at math?"

"Yes, so I'm about ninety percent sure we're right, but unless he and I feel like moving into a dump, I don't think we'll have a place of our own in time for twins. There's just no way we're going to afford it."

"Alright, so…"

"The basement."

"What's up?"

"Can we have it?"

"You want my gym?"

"We need space, James. Please, pretty please? I'll babysit Terran for a weekend so you and Serena can do something I don't want to think about. Please, please, please, can Mike and I have the basement? You'll still have your whole entire house… except our bedroom, bathroom, and the basement."

"That's almost half the house."

"Please! We have two babies coming at once!"

"Make it a week, and you've got a deal," James sighed. Emily stumbled backwards, surprised he was agreeing already. She had planned out a morning of begging and hadn't even gotten the chance to use her new, extreme puppy eyes.

"What?"

"You're going to get really fat by the summer," James shrugged his shoulders, "And Serena and I plan on getting married then. Asking you to carry your own twins and babysit Terran will be too much, so Serena and I might not get much of a honeymoon."

"So you're going to have your honeymoon before the wedding?" Emily asked. "Isn't that backwards?"

"Technically, Serena and I are already married."

"Technically, you're not, but whatever, if it means we can have the basement, I'll babysit Terran for a week. Just give me a few days heads up. I guess you're planning on honeymooning soon."

"You can convert the basement into whatever you want while we're away."

Emily smiled up at James, "You're the best big brother ever."

"Great! So then you won't mind watching Terran now while I shovel?" James pointed to the living room where Terran was on his mat playing silently with a few of his toys. He was awake, but a little tired still from the party the day before. "By the way, I haven't gotten the chance to change his diaper."

"Where's Serena?"

"Sleeping in. Today's my day with the little monster. Thanks, Em."

Emily sighed and turned around to look at her nephew, "Alright, little stinker, I guess I better get used to this. In a few months, I'll be on double diaper duty."

Terran heard the word diaper and knew what it meant. He looked up at his aunt with a smirk, laughed, and then started to run.

"Hey!" Emily called and started to chase him around the house, "Well, that's new…"


	75. Two Days Before The Wedding

The wedding was only a couple days away and Mia was excited. Her parents and Kevin's parents were staying over and helping to set up the house for the big day. Mia had the venue picked out and arrangements were being made there for the ceremony and the party afterwards, but the bridal party was going to get ready at the house and so Mia insisted the house needed to be beautiful as well.

Riley gave her opinion on the decorations, and insisted that among the wedding décor, there needed to be birthday decorations and Valentine's Day decorations. Patrick and Christina had set her up with some craft supplies at the table so she could make her own and to keep her busy while they made sure the house was perfect.

Kevin was out for the day with the boys. The closer it got to the wedding day, the more Mia wanted him out of the house. She was old fashioned and strongly believed Kevin wasn't to see her before the wedding, which left Kevin to spent most of his time at Jayden and Antonio's home.

"You guys don't mind watching Riley for a couple of hours, do you?" Mia asked as she checked her purse again for her list. If she was going to have her bridal party at her house before the wedding, she needed to make sure they were taken care of. This meant she needed to buy a few extra groceries so that grumbling stomachs wouldn't interrupt her perfect wedding.

"Of course not," her grandmother replied. Mia smiled and walked out the door, car keys in hand. When she got to her car she noticed there was something on the windshield. She got closer and saw someone had written in lipstick: _Leave Kevin alone_. Mia looked around but there was no one nearby.

For a moment, she thought maybe her friends were pranking her, but dismissed that idea quickly. She knew they feared she would turn into Bridezilla for the wedding, and she knew it was possible, but they would never resort to a prank like this. It would take ages to get the lipstick off the windshield, and the message itself was hurtful.

"Hey," she heard and looked up, seeing Emily walking up the driveway. Part of her maid of honour duties was helping Mia set up with the wedding, so Mia had invited her grocery shopping. Given the wedding was also Riley's birthday, Mia figured having a sugar-expert would help her pick out some foods that were more kid-friendly and creative, and Emily would also be an extra set of hands for carrying the groceries. Mia saw her maid of honour and pointed to the windshield.

"What's this?"

Emily looked over and gasped. She turned to Mia, "What happened? Who did this?"

"None of the guys, right? I mean, it doesn't seem like they would stoop so low, you know."

"They wouldn't," Emily shook her head, "I'm sure of it. Why don't we borrow your mom's car? I'll find a way to clean that up when we get back."

Mia nodded and walked back to the house to borrow her mother's keys while Emily stared at the message on the car. She thought back to the weekend, where one of Kevin's students had walked by the house and flirted with him. Kevin had turned him down, but some girls were crazy.

It was a far stretch, but it was the only lead Emily had. When Mia came back with her mother's keys, Emily didn't say a word about it. She would stop by the pool later. Instead, she tried to cheer her friend up.

"I got a call this morning that might interest you."

"Baby related?"

"Nothing new," Emily shook her head, "There are still two of them. It's wedding related. You know how Terry and his mom were iffy for attendance because of the awkwardness and the fact that they are on the other side of the world?"

"Country, and I'm buying you a globe, but go on."

"They got the plane tickets. They'll be here the morning of the wedding. Terry's made arrangements for his school work and his mom got the time off work. They'll be here for the wedding!"

Mia smiled. Her relationship with her brother was different from what most sibling relationships were, and her step-mother, not step-mother relationship was also a bit awkward, but she did still consider both Terry and Megan family.

"That's great news, Emily."

"They just need a place to stay," Emily said, "I could book them a hotel… or, since Terry is the brother of the bride, maybe he and his mom can stay at your place?"

"If they're arriving the day of the wedding, no one's going to be home overnight," Mia shook her head, "Kevin's keeping honeymoon plans pretty secret, but we are leaving after the wedding and Riley's going to spend the week with Lauren."

"What about your parents? Where are they going after the wedding?"

"Driving up to the airport, and then they're going home. They aren't retired yet."

"Your grandmother still works?"

"She's retired, but she's got stuff to do too. She'll be going home. The house will be empty."

"So why can't Terry and his mom stay there?"

"I guess there's no reason," Mia chuckled. "Alright, that sounds great! Thanks, Emy."

"I didn't really do anything, but you're welcome," Emily smiled. "It'll be nice seeing Terry again. You're brother's fun. AND he's got a band."

"So?"

"Wouldn't live music be better than popping CDs into a stereo all night?"

"Hey, you got me a band. You're pretty good at this maid of honour stuff. I'm still waiting for something old, something new…"

"I'm working on it!" Emily crossed her arms over her chest and pouted. Mia smirked and pulled into the parking lot. She was lucky enough to find a space towards the front. She stopped the car and Emily got out. Immediately she went to get a cart. She walked to the station and pulled out the cart. She found one without garbage sitting in the bottom and one that didn't have a wonky wheel. As she turned it around, she heard a cry. She looked over, seeing Mia waiting by the car and holding a hand to her head. Emily raced forward with the cart, riding on it until she reached Mia.

"Was that you?"

"Someone hit me!" Mia looked around the parking lot without taking her hand away from the side of her head. There was a lot of snow on the ground from a recent snowfall, and someone had taken advantage of that to throw a snowball her way.

"Who?"

"I don't know," Mia shrugged her shoulders. Emily had a look for herself and spotted a small group of girls standing at the street, waiting for the light at the intersection to change. They were giggling, and one at a time they kept glancing over to her and Mia.

"Girls…" Emily growled and then turned back to Mia, "Was it just a snowball?"

"It hurts, a lot more than a blow to the head should."

"Let me see."

Mia pulled her hand away from her face and already saw a little blood on her palm. She looked to Emily, horrified.

"Is it bad?"

"Uh…"

"EMILY!"

"I don't think it'll need stitches. Maybe if you just clean it off… your hair might be able to cover it anyway."

"EMILY!"

"We probably should still see a doctor, just to be sure."

"My wedding is in two days! I can't have a scar on my face!"

"Don't worry about it. Serena's a pro at covering up scars with make-up. Let's just, make sure it's just a cut with the doctor. Then I'll come back here and pick up the groceries for you."

"What about my wedding! Emily, I can't get married…"

"It's going to be fine, Mia. No one's going to know, I promise. The doctor's office is just down the street. I'm sure he'll tell you it's going to be fine."


	76. True Meaning Of Wedding

Mia was lucky. The doctor told her she wouldn't need stitches and the scar would heal on its own. Unfortunately, his guess for when it would disappear from the side of her face went beyond her wedding day, leaving Mia in a state of panic. Emily took her home and then went out on her own to run the errands. She stopped by the grocery store, picked up everything on Mia's list and then stopped by the nearby pharmacy. Nothing would magically heal the cut, but there were a few creams that promised to speed up the healing process. Emily figured it was worth a shot.

Then she stopped by the pool. Fortunately, the girl who seemed to have a crush on Kevin was there with what looked to be her swim team. They were sitting by the pool, likely taking a break to catch their breath. Emily walked to the viewing area and got as close to the side of the pool as she could get. The girl and her friends were on the other side, but the sound carried over thanks to the water.

"She's got no idea who she's messing with. I mean, she totally looks like a whore, doesn't she?"

"You're so right. She's such a slut. He doesn't deserve her."

"Obviously."

"Isn't he getting married, soon? That's what I heard. He was talking to another one of the instructors and asking for time off."

The girl Emily recognized as the one who had the crush on Kevin rolled her eyes, "She probably talked him into it. He's too good for her. But he's so sweet, maybe he just doesn't want to break her heart."

"It's a good thing you're helping him. Lipstick? Genius."

"She doesn't deserve him. Kevin and I are going to get married someday. We're going to be Mr. and Mrs. Hotty with a swimmer's body."

"You're so lucky," her friends all sighed dreamily. Emily stuck out her tongue and gagged.

"I hate girls," she muttered and shook her head.

Her standing around caught the attention of the swimmers. One of them looked over and shouted, "Hey, loser, this is a private practice! Get lost."

"Right, because I'm the loser," Emily whispered. She knew all she needed to know and decided it was time to leave anyways. She walked off with a huff.

On the other side of the pool, one of the girls turned to Mackenzie, "Hey, wasn't she the girl with the whore in the parking lot?"

"I don't know. I don't care. Girls, get in the water, Coach is coming back!"

-Samurai-

After getting home, Mia locked herself in her room and refused to come out. Her mother, grandmother, Kevin's parents, and Riley were knocking on the door, trying to talk her into opening it.

"Mommy, I have a booboo too!" Riley pulled up her pants and tried to show Mia (though the solid wood door) the scrap on her knee, "I'll still be pretty for the wedding!"

"Mia, the little cut means nothing," her grandmother told her, "Kevin's not going to care. No one's going to care. And if you're worried about pictures… well, I'm not sure how Photoshop works, but I know it can take that scar away and make you look just as beautiful as you are."

"It's the not the end of the world," Christina said. "These things happen. A little bad lucky before the wedding isn't going to ruin anything."

Emily came home, carrying a few bags of groceries and called out for help. Patrick and Noa went downstairs to unload the rest of the bags and warned Emily that Mia had locked herself in her room. Emily climbed up the stairs and saw Christina, Mako, and Riley hanging out by the door.

"What's going on?"

"Mommy's having a freak out," Riley said. Emily remembered the cream in her purse she picked up from the pharmacy. She grabbed it from her bag and knocked on the door.

"Mia, come out. I picked up a tiny and expensive cream for you. It won't make the scar disappear overnight, but it might help it blend a little more. C'mon, Mia, this jar is the size of Riley's toe and cost me twenty bucks. And, I'll tell you who threw the snowball and wrote on your car."

The door opened just a crack, but Riley pushed it open even further and jumped into her mother's arms.

"You're still super pretty!"

"Who?" Mia asked Emily.

"Crushie McDelusionson," Emily answered. "That girl Kevin was talking to outside at Riley's party. I told him she seemed a little weird."

"So?" Mia asked. "Emily, I'm not blind. I know Kevin's attractive. I teased him about his students when he told me he would be teaching teenage girls."

"Mia, I saw it with Frankie, and I saw it a lot when I was in high school too. Some teenage girls get really deluded. I'll bet, the father of Abby's daughter is the guy she chased around from sixth grade. He always shot her down, but she never stopped."

"Why do you think he's the dad?"

"How else was he going to shut her up? Besides… Abby kind of got really hot… Girls are really, really mean!"

"So they scar my face before the wedding?"

"The side of your face," Emily said. "And I went to the pool. I heard them talking about the lipstick!"

"So?"

"So, Kevin needs to turn them down! Her down! She plans on marrying him! She wants to be Mrs. Hotty with a swimmer's body!"

"What?"

"Don't make me repeat that. I'm still not over the morning sickness stage yet, and I'm already barfing a little in my mouth," Emily groaned. "Mia, I don't think she's going to stop, and I don't think Kevin getting married is going to stop her. She's deluded."

"What does deuded mean?"

"She's crazy!" Emily answered Riley. "Do you want me to talk to Kevin so he can shut her down… publicly, maybe?"

"No," Mia shook her head, stepped back into her room and slammed the door. Emily groaned.

"Mia, she just needs to get the message. I'm sure Kevin can…"

"Don't worry, Auntie Emily and grandmommies," Riley called from the other side of the door. She had been in Mia's arms when the door slammed and so was in the room with her mother, "I'll make her happy again!"

-Samurai-

Kevin didn't think he would obsess about the wedding as much as he was. He was wearing his tuxedo for the fifth time that day to make sure that it was going to fit properly and that it was the one. He stood in the mirror and looked to himself while brushing off dust only he could see.

"You're wearing that thing again?" Antonio walked by the guest bedroom door and caught Kevin staring at himself in the tuxedo, "Dude, you're not supposed to wear it out before the wedding. Relax."

"I just want to make sure it fits right."

"Kev, everything's going to be fine," Antonio assured him, "You're back on your crazy diet. I don't think you're going to gain twenty-pounds in two days."

"It's about more than just weight. I need to make sure everything is here and that it all looks right," Kevin said. "I don't want to be rushing around the morning of looking for my tie, or a shoe, or…"

"No one's losing anything. Take that thing off before you stain it or tear it or something else happens to it."

"I can't risk it, Antonio," Kevin took off his jacket and began to work on the tie, "Mia deserves the best. This is our big day and I don't want to be the one to screw it up."

"No one is screwing anything up," Antonio shook his head. "You just need to relax. I'll bet you anything, the moment you see Mia coming down the aisle, you won't notice anything else in the room for the rest of the night."

"Maybe, but looking back on the pictures and the wedding video we will, and I don't want to miss out or something that'll ruin everything."

"The wedding will just be one day. It won't ruin everything. Besides, a little bump and bruising gives a wedding character. They make it memorable and fun."

"You know what'll calm you down?" Jayden said as he came over carrying a glass in his hand, "If we get the bachelor party started now."

Kevin took the glass and drank down the alcohol without asking what it was, "That might be a good idea. For once."

"Mike and James are on their way over. We're going to make these last few days the best few days," Antonio assured Kevin with a smirk, "You know, until your wedding day, that is."

"Wait… you guys didn't hire a stripper, did you?"

Jayden shook his head, "James and Mike didn't think it would be appropriate for them, Antonio's gay, and it would be awkward for me to stare at a woman undressing herself with my husband in the room… or at any time… because I love Antonio so much."

"Thought so," Antonio smirked and wrapped his arm around his fiancé.

"So we decided no on the stripper."

"Good," Kevin nodded and smiled, "Then I approve of whatever you guys make me do at this party."

"And those were his last words," Antonio chuckled to himself and then walked away. "No, Mia, I don't know what happened…"

"What are you doing?"

"Rehearsing," Antonio smirked and looked innocently to Jayden and Kevin, "What? We don't know what's going to happen tonight. Do I sound convincing and innocent?"

"Not at all."

"I've got to keep working on it."

-Samurai-

Riley sat on her mother's bed, watching as Mia fussed over her face in the mirror. Riley didn't see why she was getting so upset. The cut from the snowball had left its mark on the side of her face on her cheekbone below her right eye, but it wasn't the biggest cut Riley had ever seen.

"Is Kevin not going to marry you?"

Mia turned her attention away from her face and looked to her daughter through the mirror's reflection.

"No, sweetheart, of course not."

"Why are you so sad? I still think you're pretty."

"Thank you, Riley, but this isn't that easy. Weddings are…"

"Complicated?"

Mia sighed and turned around, "Weddings are where you're supposed to be really beautiful and happy and… this is my fairy tale, Riles, and it's just… how can it be perfect if I've got this nasty cut on my face?"

"That's not nasty! I cut my knee once and it turned brown! Peter said that was nasty!"

"It's different for the wedding, Riley. This is my face. Everyone's going to see it, they're going to ask what happened…"

"But Sobo says she knows how to use fake-up to hide it!"

"I know, it's just…"

"I think you're being silly," Riley rolled her eyes. She climbed up higher on the bed and leaned against the pillows. "Okay, mommy, I know I no like this wedding a lot, but you do."

"Yeah, and?"

"You getted really happy when you talked about the wedding," Riley said. "You smile really, really pretty and you're really nice and sometimes really funny."

"When I go a little Bridezilla?"

Riley nodded her head, "Yeah. I think you really like Kevin. You want to kiss him, right?"

"Yeah, Riles. I want to kiss Kevin."

"And I think Kevin really wants to kiss you too. He's nicer too when he's with you."

"You think?"

"I'm not even five yet, mommy, but I think he really loves you."

"I love him too, Riley, but the wedding…"

"Will Kevin not like you with a booboo?"

Mia shook her head, "He would. I know he would. I've been scarred worst than this…"

"So no big deal," Riley shrugged her shoulders and smiled, "The wedding will still be okay? I think so. No more crying, okay, mommy. I think you're still very pretty, and Kevin does too. Got it."

Mia smiled and nodded her head, "Yeah, Riles, I got it."

"Good. Now come downstairs. I made you a happy wedding present. You can take it with you when you got put honey on the moon."

"On my honeymoon, Riley."

"I thought the moon was maded of cheese?"

"Just show me the picture, Riley," Mia got up and took her daughter by the hand. Riley bounced excitedly down the stairs.

"Auntie Emy! Grandmommies! I made her feel all better! And the moon is made of honey, not cheese!"


	77. The Morning Of The Wedding

Antonio and Mike sniggered as they hovered over a passed out Kevin. As was required at his bachelor party, he had gotten drunk. The boys all had and couldn't remember much of their daylong celebration. Antonio could vaguely remember why his shoes were on his hands and couldn't remember at all where he had put his boxers. Mike found himself wearing James' pants, and assumed the explanation for that wasn't far from the explanation for Antonio's missing boxers.

There were also vague memories and questions about the pile of pizza boxes in the middle of the room (and yet the boys had ordered Chinese food), the reason the couch was vertical, and where Kevin ended up buying a shirt that said: Kiss me, I'm getting married.

But the party had been fun, and had lasted all the way to the morning of the wedding. Mike, as per his duties as best man, was supposed to wake Kevin up to give him enough time to cure what was sure to be a nasty hangover and for him to get ready and get his ass down to the wedding.

"Dude… dude," Mike started to poke Kevin's forehead, "Dude, today's the day. Get up."

"I have a headache, Mike."

"Yeah, we all do. Get up. Your dad stopped by and he's making breakfast. Good thing, too. If any of us got near the oven, we'd probably start a fire."

"My dad is…" Kevin sat up, looked over to the kitchen and saw Patrick by the stove, preparing a meal that smelt both nauseating and delicious at once. "What time is it?"

"Wedding day time," Mike said, "and dude, you can start with a shower. Mia's not going to appreciate you showing up and smelling like… me."

"Mia's my fiancée, right?" Kevin groggily got to his feet and he could feel the world spinning. "Oh yeah… I remember… where's the shower?"

"I'll show you," Antonio said and gently took Kevin by the arm and walked with him to the guest bathroom. "You're not too drunk, right? I don't need to shower you, do I? That's a best man, job."

"I'm good, Antonio, thanks."

Patrick chuckled to himself as he began to plate the breakfast for the boys, "This is starting off exactly like my wedding did."

-Samurai-

"I'm late! Emily, get up! I'm late!"

Emily groaned and rolled over, burying herself as much as she could into the back of the couch. She had slept over at Mia's place to make the morning of the wedding easier for Mia. Unfortunately, it meant she was waking up at the crack of dawn to a frantic Mia.

"Congratulations. I was late too."

"Wedding late, Emily! This is no time to have a baby! Get up! There's so much to do!"

"Mia, Mia, relax," her grandmother walked into the living room with a bag over her shoulders, "We're not late, and besides, the bride's always a little late."

"So we're actually early," Emily muttered, "The twins and I are still tired and…"

"Emily! The others aren't here! Lauren and Serena and Kate aren't…"

"They're probably sleeping! Like we should be!" resigning herself to defeat, Emily sat up.

"Patrick's already with the boys helping them get ready," Christina announced as she walked into the room, "I'll be going over there in a couple of hours, and then Noa and I are going to check out the venue and make sure it's ready to go."

"What if it's not…"

"MOMMY!" Riley shouted and stomped her feet as she came down the stairs, "I was sleeping and you're crazy waked me up! Calm down!"

Mia took in a deep breath and nodded her head. If Riley was telling her to calm down, she needed to calm down. She took Riley into her arms as she came over, "You're right, I'm sorry, sweetheart. Happy real birthday."

"Thank you," Riley gave her mother a hug, "Happy real wedding day."

Noa stepped out of the kitchen, "Alright, I've got a big wedding day birthday day breakfast planned. Why don't we all sit down and eat this together. Then we'll get started on hair, make-up and the dresses."

-Samurai-

"Serena, we're going to be late!" Lauren cried as she waited in Serena's front hallway, tapping her foot impatiently. Serena raced around the house.

"I know, I know, I'm sorry!" Serena ran to Lauren and put Terran in her arms, "This one left me a beautiful present all over his crib and the wall this morning. By the way, I haven't bathed him yet."

Lauren winced and held Terran away, "We'll bath him at Mia's. Do you have the dress?"

"Of course."

"Then let's go!" Lauren grabbed Serena by the arm as she raced by and dragged her out of the house. Kate was waiting in her car in the driveway.

"Finally," she called out the window when she saw the girls were coming, "We're going to be late!"

"Blame Vincent van Poop," Serena muttered as she buckled Terran up in the car seat.

-Samurai-

As it turned out, Kevin was just as much as a handful as Mia, and the boys spent the morning running around, completely errands and tasks for him just to keep him calm and keep things on their side under control.

Kevin was finished getting ready and looked in the mirror. His tuxedo was on and he looked very well put together (in spite of the headache and a lingering sensitivity to light).

"Mike!"

"I have the rings, Kevin!"

He let out a sigh and straightened out his jacket. He heard the door click as it opened and turned around. His parents walked into the room. His mother took one look at him and started to tear.

"Kevin, you look handsome."

Kevin smiled and walked to her, "Thanks, mom. How's everything?"

"Running smoothly, don't you worry," Christina took a step back to have a look at her son again, unable to believe her eyes, "Mia is a very lucky woman."

"I'm the lucky one," Kevin said and checked himself again in the mirror, "I've got it right, right? My jacket isn't backwards or anything? I partied a little too hard yesterday."

"You're fine."

Patrick placed his hands on his son's shoulders and gave him a very bright smile, "I am very proud of you, son."

"Thanks, dad, I…"

"You have become an amazing man."

Kevin returned his father's smile and then hugged him, "That means a lot."

"Dude, I lost the rings," Mike poked his head into the room. Patrick could feel his son tensing up. Kevin pulled away from his father, clenched his fists and glared at Mike.

"You had one job…"

"I'm kidding. The limo's here," Mike smirked, "That was fun."

"You're walking," Kevin grumbled.

-Samurai-

Mia hid in her room as she put the finishing touches on. Her grandmother had done up her hair and teamed up with Serena to do her make-up. All that was left now was putting on the dress without ruining everything. Fortunately, Mia had Emily's help.

She slid the dress on and Emily zipped it up at the back and passed her the tiara.

"You look really beautiful, Mia."

"I don't mean it the way it sounds, but I know, Emily," Mia sighed, "Between my mom and Sobo and Riley, I've heard it enough."

"And you can't even see the cut," Emily said and gestured to Mia's cheek. Mia smiled.

"Yeah, I guess I overreacted. Thanks for all your help, Emily. I couldn't have done this without you."

"Sure you could," Emily shrugged her shoulders and fixed up her own dress. "I just did what you told me to do."

"Well, still, thank you," Mia kissed Emily's forehead before she gave her a smile. "It means a lot you were willing to help."

"I'd do anything for you, Mia," Emily said. She touched up Mia's hair slightly after the bride put on her tiara and gave her a nod, "You look… radiant."

Mia chuckled and nodded, "Synonyms. Good choice."

"Thanks. Now, think the bridesmaids can take care of things from here? I'm going to go double check what's going on at the venue."

"It's like you're reading my mind," Mia smiled, "Thank you!"

Emily nodded her head and walked out. She didn't have a driver's license or a car and so couldn't get herself to the venue, but had arranged for the boy's limo to pick her up. There was no rule that said the groom couldn't see the maid of honour before the wedding, and it was hers and Mike's first Valentine's Day as a married couple. She was excited to see him.

She waited on the curb. There was still five minutes before the limo arrived, but given Kevin's nature she was sure it would arrive right on time.

"You look fancy."

Emily turned around and glared at the source of the voice. It was the girl who had a crush on Kevin – the one Emily was positive wrote the message on Mia's car and hit her in the face with a snowball.

"Today's a wedding day, isn't it? The day Kevin marries that skank and makes the biggest mistake of his life."

"Who exactly are you?" Emily crossed her arms over her chest and scowled.

"Kevin's future wife, duh," Mackenzie flipped her hair over the shoulder, "Who are you? Skank's bitch of honour?"

"You want to ruin the wedding, don't you?"

"Save the wedding?" Mackenzie shook her head, "Obviously, you're on her side, so you're not going to get it. Kevin deserves so much better than what's her face."

"Mia."

"Whatever. Where is he? I want to talk to him."

"I'm not telling," Emily shook her head. "I'm not saying anything."

"Well, I'll be the wedding can't go on if the maid of honour is..."

A shriek interrupted Mackenzie and her eyes widened. Emily turned around to see what had happened and saw Terry standing over two girls and a large, container of water. Terry looked to Emily with a shrug, "They tripped. I was about to tell them to be careful. Hypothermia wouldn't be fun."

"You made it!" Emily cried and forgot all about Mackenzie as she jumped into Terry's arms, "Mia's going to be so happy to see you! She's upstairs! She look beautiful, but don't tell her that."

"What's going on here?" Terry asked after hugging Emily. He looked to Mackenzie and then to the two girls who tripped, "Who are they? More friends?"

"They're trying to ruin the wedding."

"What?"

"Have you met Kevin's future wife?" Emily pointed to Mackenzie. Terry frowned and shook his head.

"Kevin's supposed to be marrying my sister."

"And he is," Emily glared at Mackenzie and then her two friends, who finally pulled themselves up from the snow and were dripping wet from the water having spilt on them. "Kevin loves Mia. He loves her a lot. You're staying away from their wedding, got it?"

"Whatever," Mackenzie rolled her eyes, "I have other ways of making him fall in love with me."

"Fall in love with you?"

Mackenzie jumped as she recognized the voice and turned around. Kevin was standing behind her and it looked like he had just gotten out the limo on the road. He frowned deeply and shook his head, "Mackenzie, you're a great kid…"

"Doubtful," Emily muttered and looked behind her, where the water the girls had tried to dump on her was already turning into a slippery patch of ice.

"I don't love you," Kevin said. "Look, I'm sorry you have to hear it this way, but I'm getting married to a really incredible woman."

"It's a mistake."

"That's just it," Kevin shook his head, "This doesn't feel like a mistake. Adopting our daughter gave me a few doubts, but I'm sure about this. No one's going to ruin that. I'm really sorry, Mackenzie, this isn't going to work out."

"Come inside, Emily," Mike called to his wife and waved her into the limo. Emily smirked and stuck out her tongue at Mackenzie before getting inside the car. Kevin put his hands in his pockets and shrugged.

"I'm sorry, Mackenzie. I'm sure you'll find someone great one day, but he's not me. Now I've got to go."

"Whatever," Mackenzie turned away, "Your loss. When this thing ends, don't come crying to me."

"Alright, I'll remember that," Kevin said as Mackenzie started to walk off with her friends in her huff. Kevin shrugged his shoulders, "Weird kid."

"I told you something was up with her," Emily said. Kevin sighed and then turned to Terry. He gave his brother in-law a smile and then a hug.

"You made it!"

"I'll have a lot of catching up to do when I get back to school," Terry nodded, "but there's no way I'm missing my sister's wedding. Congratulations, man."

"Thanks," Kevin climbed into the limo, "I'll see you soon, I guess."

Terry nodded and waved goodbye to the limo as it drove off. He turned to the house and walked up the stairs. He rang the doorbell and then figured he would just walk in. He assumed the bridal party would be too busy to pay any attention to the door.

"And who exactly are you?" a voice asked him from below and he looked down to see a young girl. For a moment, he was worried he had the wrong house.

"I'm Terry… is this Mia's house?"

"Depends on who is asking," the little girl crossed her arms.

"Terry. I'm Mia's brother."

"You mean mommy has more family?"

"What?"

Riley stomped over to the stairs, "Mommy, you have a brother and he no bring me presents! I don't like him!"

Terry scratched his head and was certain he had the wrong house. That is, until he heard his name being called from upstairs. He looked up and saw his sister emerge from her bedroom. His jaw dropped.

"Whoa… Mia, you look…"

"Say beautiful and I'll kick your ass."

"Stunning," Terry smiled. Mia brightened up and raced down the stairs. She leapt into Terry's arms.

"You came."

"I'll take any chance I can to bond with my sister," Terry nodded. He gave his sister a loving squeeze before he let her go, "Happy wedding day."

"Thanks. I'm so glad you made it. Where's your mom?"

"She'll catch up with us later. She knew your family would be here and… well, it's still a little weird for her."

"I understand," Mia nodded. She pulled her brother in for another hug, "I've missed you. We have so much to catch up on!"

"Yeah, and we can start with the kid calling you mommy. Last thing I remember is trying to comfort you after you found out kids were off the table."

Mia bit her lip and laughed nervously, "Yeah… funny story…"


	78. The Wedding Day

Though her friends would disagree, getting ready for the wedding had been the easy part. Mia stood in her dress, done up perfectly like she had imagined herself all those years ago. Everything was perfect and beautiful and she couldn't imagine a better scene before her. The music played. Riley as the flower girl, took Terran's hand and together they walked down the aisle. Riley waved and smiled excitedly when she saw her father standing at the front and rushed down by herself, leaving Terran behind. The little boy had no idea what was going on, but that wasn't going to stop him. He dropped the pillow on his hands which carried two fake rings. He heard the music playing and decided this was a good time to show his family he knew how to dance.

Or at least bop. He bounced in the middle of the aisle, smiling happily. Serena got down on her knees and called him over. Terran ran into his mother's arms.

Riley raced directly to her father. It was the first time she had seen him in two days and she had to admit to missing him. She jumped right into his arms and gave him a warm hug.

"Happy birthday, Riles," he whispered in her ear. "I promise, this is going to be a short ceremony and then we're going to have fun."

"I know. Happy wedding day, daddy," Riley gave him a kiss on the cheek. He gave her another loving squeeze before he set her down and she ran to sit beside her grandmother.

Mike put his hand on Kevin's shoulder, "Congrats, dude."

Kevin nodded his head and tried to hold back his tears. He knew the day would come eventually where Riley would accept him as her father. She had already called Mia her mother. He never assumed it would be so soon, and he never thought it would affect him this much. He had to keep it together, and tried his best.

But the wedding march started and all eyes turned to the back. Mia stepped into the room, escorted by her grandmother and there was a beautiful, stunning, radiant smile that light up her face. All eyes were on her, but she was staring to one spot in particular.

For her entire childhood she had imagined this moment. She had thought of the flowers, the dress, the music, the layout of the room, who she would invite, what she would do, what she would say. She had everything planned and she had always believed that if she stuck to the plan, it would all be perfect – she would have her dream wedding. But as she looked out at Kevin, all she could see was him and none of that mattered. She had it all, her wedding was perfect, and yet the only thought on her mind was of Kevin and how amazing he was and how lucky she was to have him.

She didn't take her eyes off him for the ceremony. She stared directly into his eyes and he stared back lovingly. For a moment, she thought she saw her future with him, and it was a happy future.

"Mia!" a nudge in her back was strong enough to pull her from her dream and she found it was all real. She turned around to see who had nudged her. It was Emily. "C'mon, Mia, if you like it, which we all know you do, then you've gotta put a ring on it!"

Mia took the ring and slipped it on Kevin's finger. With that, they were married. The minister told Kevin he could kiss the bride and he pulled Mia into his arms and kissed her passionately.

"That was my idea," Riley whispered to her grandmother, "I told mommy she should kiss daddy."

Christina chuckled and cuddled with her granddaughter.

-Samurai-

"So, hold up," Terry was sitting at a table with his sister during the reception. Mia had promised to catch up with him after the wedding and he wouldn't let her go until he got a few answers from her. While the party was having fun, Mia was caught explaining the last month and a bit to her brother, "After you abandoned me, crying and devastated about the news that you couldn't get pregnant, you find a kid on the streets and adopt her? And you never thought about calling your brother and letting him know?"

"I'm really sorry, Terry. I'm not used to having a brother to call, you know. Dad may have told you about me, but I still have to remind myself I have a brother from time to time."

"Well, thanks to that, she doesn't like me," Terry teased his sister, "I'm really happy for you, Mia. You do deserve the best."

"Thank you. Now can you get up on stage and start playing? It's not a party without music!"

Terry nodded his head. He kissed Mia on the cheek and went to join the band and Antonio on stage. Mia got up, finally free from her brother's questions and walked around the room, trying to find something to do.

"Mommy!" Riley called and pushed her way through the people, "The cake is here and it looks super good! You have to come see."

"It's got a pink Samurai Ranger, blue kittens, rainbows, and wedding bells," Kevin said, "And out little bride, groom, and daughter figurines on the top. I know it sounds bad, but it's actually really stunning. I almost don't want to eat it."

"I do! But come see!" Riley took her mother's hand and pulled her towards the kitchen.

At another table, Mike, Emily, and Lauren sat and watched the new family get excited about their cake. Lauren wasn't one for big parties, and felt uncomfortable with the huge amount of socializing she would have to do at the party. She knew most of the guests but very little about weddings and so preferred to sit down and observe. It was for the best anyways. There were a few more weddings to be had in the near future. Though Jayden and Antonio's was postponed indefinitely, it was going to happen one day and Lauren had been asked to be Jayden's best man. Kate and Ji were also going to get married and Lauren was Kate's maid of honour.

She needed to learn all she could about weddings so she didn't mess up for her own family.

Emily complained she was feeling tired and sluggish. Mia had her up early that morning and Emily had spent the last few days running errands for the bride.

Mike was having fun, "They're going to be happy, especially on that honeymoon. And speaking of," he turned to Lauren with a bright smile, "You're going to be babysitting the little terror for a week."

"Nervous?" Emily asked and touched her stomach, "I know I am."

"Ji and Kate are going to be around, and Riley likes me," Lauren answered. "I'm a little nervous, but I think it'll be fun."

"What are you going to do with her for the week?" Mike asked. "Hanging around the Shiba House was pretty cool and all, but… it did get boring."

"I can take her down to the dojo," Lauren said, "I talked to her about starting lessons and she seemed excited. Mia and Kevin are going to sign her up once everything's official, but I don't see the harm in getting her a little warmed up. She might also like to Troy."

"Troy?"

"A temporary student. He's helping with the final stages of the dojo in exchange for free lessons. He's a pretty cool guy. He keeps to himself, mostly, but he's got a good… there's just something really good about him. I can feel it."

"That should be fun," Mike and Emily nodded. Mike then saw a round of appetizers coming out of the kitchen and jumped up, "Food! Finally! Want something, Em? I can bring you over a plate?"

"I'm not very hungry," Emily shook her head, "I'll wait until the real food comes out."

-Samurai-

It was time for the first dance for the bride and groom. Kevin held Mia close as they swayed on the dance floor. They were both a little shy about dancing with all eyes on them, so they tried to ignore everyone else. Kevin gave Mia a smile.

"I'm daddy."

"Uh, normally the title changes to husband," Mia chuckled, "What are you…?"

"Riley," Kevin laughed, "When she ran down the aisle, she called me daddy. You're right, it's one of the best feelings in the world. I almost cried."

"I thought life would work out like it did in all those stories and movies," Mia said as she leaned into Kevin. "I thought I would find my prince charming and just know he was the one. I thought I would get married at the perfect wedding, go on this amazing honeymoon, buy a house, and eventually start a family. I never imagined this chaos."

"Neither did I," Kevin nodded, "Not that I spent a lot of time dreaming about what my family would look like. Most of my dreams were about the Olympics. But you know what, as thrilling as it is to win a gold medal for my country, I don't think it could even come close to this feeling. I have my wife and my daughter by my side forever. That's…"

"Incredible," Mia smiled and nodded her head. She looked up and gave Kevin a kiss, "I love you."

"I love you too. By the way, our honeymoon is all set up."

"Can I know where we're going now?"

"Serena did most of the hard work. How does New Zealand sound?"

"New Zealand?"

"It's summer there, and I hear the place is unlike anywhere else in the world. I think we'll have a lot of fun. Serena did too. She suggested it and paid for the hotel."

"She did?"

"It's our wedding present," Kevin chuckled. "So what do you think?"

"You're coming, right?"

"It's my honeymoon too."

"It'll be perfect."

"New Zealand? Maybe you should go to old Zealand first," Riley but in between her parents, pushing them apart, "Dance time is over, guys. It's my turn. Uncle Tonio promised to play a special song just for me because it's my birthday too, remember."

"Of course," Mia and Kevin nodded. Kevin lifted his daughter into his arms, "May I have this dance, my little lady."

"You sound funny," Riley giggled, "but okay."

She wrapped her arms around her father's neck and rested her head on his shoulder, "I like this wedding. Now we're a real family, right? No more fake family."

"We were never a fake family," Mia kissed her daughter's cheek, "But yes, Riley, now we're officially and official real family."

"Will you call me every night while you go chase the moon of honey?"

"Every night, right before bedtime, we promise."

-Samurai-

Emily sat at the table and was trying to make a miniature fort out of the napkins and cutlery that had been left over from the main course. Dessert was on its way and to be served by the end of the night, right before Kevin and Mia left for their honeymoon. In fact, Emily could see the cake was being pushed out on a cart right at this moment.

She wasn't hungry. She hadn't eaten appetizers or much of her dinner, and though she was a sugar maniac, she couldn't bring herself to eat. She felt sluggish, tired, and drained, and the thought of eating something made her stomach turn. At the same time, she was craving something, but couldn't quite figure it out. The napkins did look good, and she had considered tasting them, but knew that would look weird and raise several eyebrows.

While everyone gathered around the oddly decorated cake, Emily stayed at the table. Serena came over to join her.

"Mike says you're tired."

"A bit, yet," Emily nodded, "Being maid of honour is exhausting."

"You'll have to do it again," Serena smiled, "You're my official maid of honour. I'll have Mia help out, though. You're going to be so fat when it's my turn."

"Stupid twins," Emily muttered and looked down at her stomach, "Don't get comfortable. If I have to, I will induce."

"Hitting one of those rough spots?" Serena rubbed her sister's arm, "It only gets worst from here, but it's worth it. You're going to love being a mom. Maybe twice as much as I do."

"I get twice as much of everything, don't I?"

"Just be glad it's not triplets," Serena teased but saw the angry glare from her sister. She laughed and wrapped her arms around her, "Aw, I'm only playing, Em. Besides, no matter how many babies you have, I'll always be there for you, you know that."

"Yeah, I know. I just…"

"Are you sure everything's okay? Why don't you go lie down? There's a couch in the hall and it's pretty quiet out there. Maybe you just need a nap."

"That might be a good idea," Emily nodded and got to her feet. She swayed slightly which prompted Serena to jump up and steady her.

"Yeah, okay, you do need to lie down. I'll walk you out and let you nap for a bit. Mike or I will come to wake you up later. And here," Serena picked up a glass from the table, "Drink some water."

-Samurai-

The wedding day had been the best day of Mia and Kevin's lives. To say they didn't want it to end was completely true, and lucky for them, it didn't have to. They were going straight from the reception to the airport. Ji and Kate would be driving them and had their bags packed and ready to go.

Mia got down on her knees and pulled her daughter into her arms, "We are coming home, Riley. We're only going to be gone for a week."

"I know," Riley nodded her head and hugged her mother tight, "I miss you already."

"You're going to have so much fun with Auntie Lauren. You won't even know we're gone," Mia promised her and then passed her over to Kevin. He gave her a hug and a kiss.

"We'll bring you home a bunch of souvenirs."

"Presents?"

"Yeah. A whole lot of them. And we'll call every night… day… we'll call you at least once a day. We'll figure out the time difference once we're there."

"Just bring back the presents," Riley said. She gave her father a kiss on the cheek, offered her mother one more hug and was then placed back on the ground. Her parents had already said goodbye to the rest of the family, so all that was left for them to do was leave. They did, and their guests were left to clean up what was left behind.

The joys of being maid of honour," Emily muttered. She had come back from her nap to say goodbye to Mia and Kevin but wasn't feeling any better than before she fell asleep. She wasn't going to let that keep her from helping everyone out with the cleanup, but would take it easy. She decided she would take Mia and Kevin's presents from the table in the corner of the room out to the car, and asked Jayden and James to lend her a hand with some of the heavier presents. She grabbed the smaller boxes and made her way out to the car.

She wrangled the car keys out from her pocket and opened the trunk. She wasn't sure how they were going to fit all the presents in, but they were going to find a way, and it started with clearing out the items that were already in the trunk. Emily would move them to the back. She reached in and grabbed what she could. As she straightened herself out, she felt unsteady.

It was dark out, but she was positive her vision was fading and the spots of dark she was seeing had nothing to do with the night. Then, she lost the ability to see completely, and everything around her sounded like it was underwater.

"Emily! Emily, can you hear me?" her vision returned but her hearing was still a little fuzzy. She had no idea where she was, what she was doing or had been doing, and what had happened. She looked up, completely terrified and saw Mike was leaning over her. Behind him was the sky. She didn't remember lying down.

Seeing her eyes open, Mike breathed a sigh of relief and gently stroked the side of her face, "Emily are you okay? What happened?"

She didn't respond but her eyes welled up with tears. Mike sat down beside her on the cold sidewalk and decided against asking her anymore questions to avoid freaking her out further.

James took off his coat and draped it across Emily. He looked to Mike, "I can drive you guys down to the hospital."

"Please," Mike whispered. Emily seemed a little dazed, but she was awake, but Mike wouldn't take any chances – not when she was pregnant. Slowly and carefully he and James lifted Emily up to her feet and walked over to James' car.

Everyone had gathered outside. When James and Jayden found Emily slumped over, half-lying in the trunk they had rushed for help. Jayden ran back inside to tell the rest of the Samurai family what had happened while James stayed with Emily and lay her on the ground.

Riley hugged Lauren tightly, terrified for her aunt, "Is Auntie Emy going to be okay?"

"Yeah, Riley," Lauren nodded and gently squeezed her niece, "Everything's going to be okay. How about we go take another slice of your birthday cake?"

"But… but, Riley clung tightly to her Aunt and looked over her shoulder as Lauren carried her back inside.

Serena stood in the cold and watched as James and Mike drove off to the hospital. She would be in the car with her sister, but someone had to stay with Terran.

Christina came over and hugged the worried sister, "She'll be fine."

"She wasn't feeling well today," Serena sniffed. Christina looked to her sympathetically.

"Don't worry about it."

"She doesn't deserve this. What if it's bad news again? It could be bad, right?"

"It could be nothing. Let's get you home. Patrick went to get Terran. We can stay with you tonight."

"Thank you."


	79. More Problems Some Solutions

Mike paced back and forth as he waited on news about his wife. He was worried like always when Emily was sick or hurt, but the worry tripled because it had to. Not only was there a risk that something was seriously wrong with his wife, but she was carrying his twins.

Mike always hated that setup and felt girls had it easy. Of course, they had troubles of their own, but when it came to pregnancy they had more control. Everything Mike loved was in one body, all bundled up together, practically dependant on each other. One mistake and he could lose everything. He didn't want to lose everything. He wanted everything to be okay.

"I'll bet this wasn't how you planned on spending Valentine's Day night," James muttered as he tried to start up a conversation. Mike's pacing made him nervous. Mike gave him a harsh glare so James decided to stick with something a little less playful, "You need to relax. Emily was feeling a little better on the way over here. This may have just been an episode."

"With a to be continued stuck on the end of it," Mike muttered and glared at the doors, "Seriously, someone needs to tell me what's happening now!"

"They told you that you were allowed back in once you calmed down," James said and he felt his phone vibrate again. He had a worried Mike to calm down and a panicked Serena at home texting him at least once every minute to see if he knew anything about her sister. Serena was fiercely overprotective. James gave her the same response as the time before then glanced up at Mike, "You need to calm down."

"What if this is serious?" the door to the waiting room opened and a doctor stepped out. Mike grabbed him by the collar. He didn't care who he was there to see.

"My wife…"

"Is ready to see you now," the doctor said and Mike sprinted down the hall to find her. James got up and excused Mike's behaviour to the doctor before following the green Ranger through the hospital and down to Emily's room. On his way, he texted Serena to let her know what was happening now. He had promised to keep her up to date with any news he received.

He found Emily's room and walked in. He put his phone away in his pocket and looked across at Emily. Mike was sitting on the bed beside her, soothing her as much as he could.

"So?" he asked.

"Iron-deficiency anemia," Mike told James who let out a huge sigh. The older man looked to the worried couple with a reassuring smile.

"My sister had that during pregnancy. She never fainted, but there were several dizzy spells. Don't worry; it's going to be fine. Did the doctor prescribe you…?"

Emily pointed to the table by her bed where there was a bottle of iron supplements for her to take. She kept a hold of Mike, needing his comfort, but looked over to James.

"They… they said something about vitamin C too…"

"It helps with absorption. Don't worry, I picked up a few meal tricks from my brother in-law that'll stop this problem in its tracks. This isn't happening again."

Emily smiled a little bit for James but clung on to Mike tightly. She was still scared.

-Samurai-

Lauren knew her parenting skills were a far cry from exemplary but as long as Riley was okay she didn't care. After seeing Emily sprawled on the ground and watching as her aunts, uncles, and grandparents all began to panic, Riley was hard to settle. She was scared to go to sleep and refused to even go to bed until someone told her what happened to her aunt.

Lauren didn't know and couldn't offer her niece an answer, so instead let her stay up past her bedtime. Riley decided she would make a "_feel better card"_ for her aunt and was colouring a rainbow on a piece of paper. Lauren kept her eye on the girl, hoping she would get tired soon.

Ji and Kate came home after dropping Kevin and Mia off at the airport and making sure they were off safely. They came into the kitchen and were surprised to see Riley wasn't in bed at the late hour, and instead was colouring and yacking Lauren's ear off about the magic of rainbows.

"What's going on?" Ji asked as Kate tried to talk the young girl into going to bed.

"Emily…"

"Falled on the ground and everyone got scared!" Riley explained then pointed to her picture, "I'm making her a feel better card. She's going to feel better, right?"

"What happened to Emily?" Kate asked and looked to Lauren. Ji took over trying to get Riley to sleep. He took the young girl, her picture, and the crayons down to her bedroom. Kate was deeply concerned as she looked to Lauren, demanding an explanation for Riley's words.

"Emily fainted. Mike and James took her to the hospital to get it checked out, but she was awake when they left."

"When did this happen?" Kate asked and rushed for the phone.

"Just after you left. Emily, Jayden, and James were packing up the car and she just… fainted. Is she going to be okay?"

Kate was midway through dialling Mike's number when she turned to Lauren and saw fear in the red Ranger's eyes. She assumed if it was anything serious she would know about it, and the others would keep her up to date with what she needed to know when she needed to know about it. Kate set the phone down and hugged Lauren.

"These things happen sometimes," Kate assured her. "They're scary, and we wonder why they have to happen, but they do. I'm sure the doctors will figure it out. She'll be fine."

"And the babies?"

"They'll be fine too."

-Samurai-

Serena spent the night tossing and turning in her bed. Kevin's parents stayed with her to help her care for Terran while she worried about her sister. In the morning, Serena got up early and was surprised to see Patrick and Christina were already downstairs in the kitchen. Terran was in his high chair picking at his breakfast and Kevin's parents were cooking up breakfast for themselves and Serena.

Terran looked somewhat upset by this unusual morning. Five times a week it was James and Emily who would take care of him for most of the day. He barely knew these strangers who had taken him from his crib and were feeding him. He was relieved to see his mother and called her over. Serena sat next to him and gently rubbed his arm.

"It's alright, Terran. Everything's fine."

"He's been calling for you, James, and Emily all morning," Christina said as she handed Serena a plate. "It's adorably heartbreaking."

"They're always here with him," Serena nodded her head.

"Fortunately, the kid can be distracted somewhat by cheerios," Patrick chuckled. He turned around and saw Serena wasn't laughing. She was staring down at her plate and using her fork to push the food around. Patrick sighed, "Any news?"

"Anemia," Serena nodded, "It's not too bad. James promised everything was okay, but it's still scary. They kept her overnight in the hospital and that…"

"Freaks you out," Patrick said. "That's understandable. But your sister's tough. I'm sure she'll be fine."

"Those kids are turning out to be a real pain in the ass," Serena muttered, "Just like their parents."

"They'll be a joy when they arrive, I assure you," Christina smiled. Then she turned to Patrick and smirked his way before looking back at Serena, "By the way, we couldn't help but notice Mike and Emily are already fully stocked for the twin's arrival."

"I went a little overboard," Serena nodded. "Mike and Emily are a little strapped for cash so we're all helping out. I bought pretty much the entire baby store. Really, everything Mike can't build on his own."

"Mike's building baby stuff?"

"He got a crib done in a night," Serena said. "It's saving him and Emily money. They want their own place and can't afford that and having a baby, never mind twins. It's rough for them. That's why they don't need this. They don't need more problems…"

"What if we could help with the house?"

"No," Serena's eyes widened, "No way, I couldn't ask you to do that. They would never… I mean… it's too much."

"We have a safe house just outside the city limits," Patrick said. "I bought the place years ago to protect Christina and Kevin while I was at war with the Nighlok. If something were to happen, they were to go there. Now that the Nighlok are gone, we don't need it. We were thinking of selling it but if Mike and Emily need…"

"You can't just hand them a house," Serena shook her head, "I mean, that's really, really generous of you but…"

"They can rent," Patrick suggested. "We'll keep rent low so they can afford this and the new twins. Christina and I can stop by often to check up on them, and seeing as we'll be the landlords, any repairs with the house will be covered by us."

"The house isn't in the best of locations," Christina said, "That's the reason we picked it. It's far enough away from the city so that we were safe if the Nighlok did put up a bit of a fight. And it's been unused for so long that I'm sure there are a few repairs that need to be made before it's ready to be sold. I think renting it out will profit Mike and Emily, and ourselves in the long run. We'll have money coming in while we patch the place up. And seeing as you've already bought everything for the twins arrivals, all Mike and Emily will have to do is save up some money for when the twins are born and make sure rent and their food expenses are paid. If they take care of themselves, everything should be covered."

Serena's eyes filled with tears. She knew she couldn't say anything on her sister's behalf, but Patrick and Christina were making the offer very hard to turn down. Mike and Emily were sure to at least take it into consideration once they found out.

"And I know we said the house was away from the city, but it's about a twenty minute drive from here if you take the highway. You'll still be able to visit your sister daily."

Serena jumped up and threw herself into Patrick's and Christina's arms. She couldn't thank them enough.


	80. Too Good To Pass Up

Terran thought he heard a sound with his little ears, and looked up from his game of roll the ball across the floor to mommy. He heard a sound again and let the ball roll by him as he got to his feet. It was the familiar sound of the door opening, and every time the door did open, someone special came home. With a smile, he bounced excitedly to the front hall where he was met with his uncle Mike, his father, and his auntie Emy all at once. He laughed happily and ran into his father's arms.

"Hey, little man. Daddy missed you," James hugged his son and his voice brought the rest of the house over. Patrick and Christina watched from the living room but Serena jumped up and ran quickly into her sister's arms.

"How are you feeling?"

"Fine, I guess," Emily muttered. She pushed Serena away and walked to the living room to have a seat on the couch. She could already tell everyone would ask her to take it easy for the next little while. The iron supplements and the rest at the hospital did help her to feel better but she still did have a sluggish feeling. It would be a couple of days still before she got her energy back up.

"I'll get started on lunch," James said as he set Terran down. He gave Mike a gentle pat on the back, "Want to help?"

"Yeah, of course," Mike nodded. He was terrified of a repeat. The iron supplements Emily had been given would help, but his time in the hospital had been horrible and he didn't wish for a repeat. To minimize those chances to as close to zero as possible, Emily was going to take in enough iron in a day to help treat her anemia. Mike didn't expect James to cook every meal for Emily, so Mike figured it was time he learned what to do to take care of his wife and children.

Serena went to sit on the couch with Emily and wrapped her arms around her little sister, "You gave everyone a scare. Have you messaged them or called them to let them know you're okay?"

"No," Emily muttered and shook her head. Serena gave her a loving squeeze and a smile.

"I know, it's scary," she thought back to the times she had blacked out and fainted. There had been many of those when she had been sick and every time Serena woke up terrified. It always took a moment for the brain to register what had happened – if it ever could – and that moment was the scariest of all. Confusion, panic, humiliation all worked together in that one moment to ensure the experience was as horrible and painfully exhausting as it could get.

Emily never recovered quickly from experiences like that. Serena held her sister close.

"Well, when you're ready we'll let them know. Do you need some rest?"

"No."

"Emily, it's okay," Serena held her sister closely. Emily shook her head. She buried her face in her sister's shoulder.

"It's all going to hell."

"No, it's not. These things happen, Em. You've been working hard for the wedding and I guess weren't eating all you needed and…"

"What if something's trying to tell me, or all of us, that I'm not ready for this! I'm still eighteen, Serena! I'll only be nineteen when the twins are born! How am I meant to take care of twins, start a career, and make a living? Everyone's got it figured out but I don't! Mike and I can't even get out of your house without possibly going into debt! We're screwed, and then I faint because my body isn't making enough red blood cells to keep me standing up! It's not okay! I'm not a mom! I can't do anything!"

"It's going to be fine, Emily, I promise," Serena hugged her sister tightly and glanced over to Kevin's parents. She gave them a little nod. If there was any time for them to offer up their safe house it was now.

Christina sat on the couch beside the two sisters and touched Emily's back, "We hear you're looking for a house."

"No," Emily sniffed but never pulled her head away from Serena's shoulder, "We want a house. We can't afford one and never will."

"Emily…"

"What if," Christina said, "I were to tell you of a place that was low rent? It's a starter home, that's for sure, but it'll be big enough for you, Mike, and the twins until you can afford your own place."

"You're dreaming."

"Patrick and I own an extra home. It was to be a safe house in case something were to happen during the Nighlok wars and now that those are over we no longer need it. We were thinking of selling, but renting it out to a young couple starting a family might just be a better idea."

"We could… we could never," Emily pulled away from Serena. She looked to Christina and Patrick, "Mike and I have like… no money… we… we…"

"You're welcome to stop by for dinner as often as you want," Serena said. "Terran's going to miss you for sure. You've been gone less than a day and this morning he kept looking around and asking for _'Memy?'_. And, James and I will need a babysitter. While you're here, the food in the fridge is as much yours as ours."

"No…" Emily shook her head, "No… we couldn't. That's nice of you… all of you, but…"

"Em, we're sisters. Nice of me would be buying you a home and paying off the mortgage for you. Sharing my food and my home when you need it, that's practically required."

"And it's not like Patrick and I won't be getting anything in return," Christina said and smiled to her husband, "You and Mike will be expected to keep up with your rent payments."

"Are you serious?" Mike asked. He could hear the conversation in the kitchen and naturally had been drawn in. "You're giving us a place?"

"You pay us rent at the beginning of the month once you two are ready to move in," Patrick said, "That is all we ask from you. Unless you start damaging the home on purpose, we are willing to pay for any repairs you need. The house, after all, remains our house."

"Em, that's a sweet deal," Mike looked to his wife. She shrugged his shoulders.

"Still… can we do it?"

"I'm making money at work," Mike nodded, "And I'm finding the occasional odd job for extra cash. Didn't Lauren and Jayden also offer you a job at the dojo? What if you asked them if you could start now? I'm sure they would be willing to take you, and they would find some job for you to do to earn your pay. With that, and if we're careful, I think we can make it work."

Mike turned to Kevin's parents, "Can we try it out? Just one month. Depending on how much you want to charge for rent, I might be able to write you a check…"

"One month free," Christina said and turned to Patrick. He seemed a little surprised but knew not to argue with his wife. "Move in, take care of yourselves. If by the end of the month you think you'll have enough money to afford living on your own, you'll pay rent for the second month. If not, then no harm, no foul."

Mike smiled brightly. The deal was amazing; perfect even. He knew he would never be able to thank Patrick of Christina enough, no matter how hard he tried (and he was going to do all he could to show them his thanks). He would be a fool to pass it up. He turned to Emily to see what she thought and saw she had started crying again.

"Em, it's just temporary. We'll stand on our own feet someday, I promise. But we can't do that without a little help first…"

"It's the hormones," Emily sobbed and buried her face in her sister's shoulders again, "I'm happy, I swear."


	81. Looking Forward

Troy slammed into the wall behind him and groaned loudly. He sunk to the floor and rubbed the back of his head.

"Ow…"

"You're lucky," Jayden told him, "If I were a real bad guy, you'd be doomed," Jayden tossed a bottle of water to his student, letting him know he was getting a five minute break. Troy grumbled.

"I don't get it," he said. "When I practice at home I can do this perfectly. When I fight against you…"

"Training and a real battle are different. Here, when you tire, I let you take breaks, and honestly, I'm holding back. In a real battle, against monsters or bad guys or whatever's attacking you, they aren't going to take you into account. War is dirty."

"When am I ever going to be caught up in a war?" Troy chugged his water down and looked to his sensei.

"You never know," Jayden answered. "I'll bet the people who used to live here never thought they would have to face the monsters themselves. But that final battle proved otherwise."

"Yeah… the Rangers did good, though," Troy said. He got to his feet and looked to Jayden curiously, "Look, can I talk to you about something?"

"Sure, have a seat," Jayden and Troy walked to Antonio's kitchenette. Antonio was out for the day catching and selling fish so the two men had the dojo to themselves until Lauren and Riley showed up. It was plenty of time and space for Jayden and Troy to talk.

"You know how Panorama City's the latest city to be hit by a series of monster attacks. Ocean Bluff before that, and San Angeles…"

"Yeah, I've heard of the other places. Why?"

"Well, you know how there's always a team of Power Rangers or whatever that fights them off. Lately, more often than usual, I dream about those teams."

"Really?" Jayden frowned. He had never heard of that before. From time to time he had dreams of the Samurai Rangers, but he knew those were drawn from his life. They were anxiety dreams about what would happen if he failed, or involved his friends just in general because they were people in his life.

"Yeah, and it's not just like, crazy-fan boy dreams either. It's… these dreams feel different, and they're happening more and more. The other day, I had a dream of a bunch of red Rangers, all from different teams, fighting evil on the moon. Is that even possible?"

Jayden shrugged his shoulders. He had never heard of it, but he wasn't about to dismiss anything Troy was saying.

"And more often than not, I get these dreams of the Samurai Rangers. The red ones – both of them."

Now Jayden was really intrigued. He leaned in slightly, "Really?"

"Last night, I saw the girl drawing a Chinese symbol or something and hitting that big, bad monster that tried to take over the city."

"Japanese," Jayden corrected which earned him a look from Troy. He shrugged his shoulders, "Sorry, I know a little Japanese and… doesn't matter, you were saying."

"These dreams feel real. Some of them feel like memories and others feel like… like they're going to happen. More and more I dream of a team I've never even heard about. The Mega… I don't know. They're just… I don't know what to do about them. Have you ever had weird dreams like these? I mean, it's not like I'm a big Power Ranger fanatic. I've heard of them, sure, and when those monsters were attacking the city I kept an eye on the news all the time, but… I'm not obsessed. And my dreams… they're always focused on the red guy. Why red? It's not like I've got anything in common with those red guys, right? They're the leaders and I'm not exactly leader material, am I?"

"You never know what you're made of until it's time for you to dig deep," Jayden said, "I never thought I was strong enough to be a leader. One day, I found myself in that role and I learned to embrace it. You've got to have faith in yourself. Working with your team doesn't hurt, either."

"Okay, but what about my dreams?"

"I don't know, Troy. Maybe you need to pay attention to them. Your mind could be telling you something important."

"Really?"

"Or you could just be going bananas," Jayden chuckled. "We'll hope it's the former."

"Yeah."

The bell rang to alert the boys someone was coming in. Lauren had finally arrived with Riley in tow. It was Riley's first time in the dojo and because the work on the inside was finally done it was an amazing sight for her. Riley dropped her bag and started running around.

"Whoa! This place is so cool!"

Jayden put his hand on Troy's shoulder, "If you need to talk again, you know I'm here for you."

"Thanks, Sensei Jayden," Troy smiled. He got up and bowed respectfully to Lauren, "I hope you don't mind, I showed up a little early."

-Samurai-

Serena was upstairs, helping Emily pack. Mike, James, and Kevin's parents were downstairs loading some of the heavier things into the car.

Emily and Mike had agreed to move. With the month of February free of rent, they wanted to try living on their own for as long as possible. They had made a deal with Kevin's parents that was sure to help them get on their feet eventually, and would give them a place to stay while they saved up enough money for the future.

Doing that meant moving as much of their stuff over as possible. The bigger furniture pieces, like the babies' crib, was going to stay until Mike and Emily made their final decision, but everyone insisted their temporary home feel like home.

"I know you want to be independent," Serena looked to her sister as she taped a box shut, "but for the next few weeks, when Mike and I are at work, can you come by and help James with Terran."

Emily looked a little offended, "Serena, I can take care of myself…"

"I know, I know. I'm not doubting that," Serena said, "It's just… after last night. Until you get this anemia under control, if you pass out and no one's due to come home for hours… you're going to be alone."

"I guess it would be really scary, but… can James and Terran come to my place? You'll have to pick Mike up anyways to get to school. It'll be easier, right?"

"Alright. I'll talk to James about it. I'm going to miss you, you know."

"Miss having your little sister mooch off you every night and day? Yeah, right. It was bound to get old…"

"I love you, Emily," Serena kissed her sister's forehead and then picked up a box. She carried it down the stairs, leaving Emily with her own box. The yellow Ranger smiled, grabbed the box and raced after her sister.

"You know, you're not getting rid of me this easily," she teased. "I'll find ways to annoy you, even from a different house. You're going to wish I moved out of the country!"

Emily passed Serena and raced outside. She walked by Mike and gave him a bright smile, "That's everything for now."

"Awesome," Mike said. He turned to Christina and Patrick, "Mind showing us the place so we can get settled?"

"Storm! Come on!" Emily called the small dog who raced out quickly and jumped into Emily's arms.

Serena put her box in the trunk and closed it as Patrick, Christina, Mike, and Emily piled into the van and slowly they pulled out of the driveway. Serena watched them leave and felt tears stinging her eyes.

"They'll be back," James chuckled as he came over and wrapped an arm around his wife. "You heard Emily, we're not getting rid of her that easily. I say we pack up and get the hell out of dodge. That's the only way we're going to…"

Serena nestled into James' arms, buried her face in his chest and started to cry. James hugged her tightly.

"She's twenty minutes away. She's going to be fine. You always say it, you're sister's tougher than you are."

James led Serena back inside and had her sit on the couch. He turned on the TV to distract her and then went upstairs to check on Terran.

As he walked to the boy's room, he passed Mike and Emily's old bedroom. Most of the furniture was still there, but the room looked bear. All of Mike and Emily's belongings were gone from the room.

Downstairs, the TV couldn't distract Serena. Her sister was gone – moved out possibly forever and living on her own. It was the strangest feeling, and left Serena very unsettled.

Suddenly, the front door flew open and a blur dashed through the house and jumped on Serena on the couch.

"I love you too," Emily told Serena before getting off her. She gave her sister a smile then walked back out again.

Serena was still unsettled, but she knew it would be okay.


	82. A New Job

A couple of nights in the new house weren't enough to turn it into a home, but Emily was excited to get her new life started. She missed having a busy house and being surrounded by the people she loved, but as James warned her when she helped him babysit Terran for the day, it was best to enjoy it before the twins arrived. Already she and James had their hands full with one, one year old. Two newborns were going to going to be two handfuls and then some. Mike would have to keep working, so unfortunately he would be gone most days, leaving Emily by herself with two little screamers. Fortunately for her, James offered his help whenever the young couple would need it, and Serena was already always available for anything. The rest of the Samurai family, past and current generations, were also more than ready to lend a hand. Even little Riley was excited at the idea of having two new cousins, and offered to help only if there was a girl. She wasn't interested in stinky boys.

But that was still in the future. For now, Emily could still work and she still had some time to herself. Knowing she and Mike would need money, Emily was willing to jump in wherever possible to earn a few extra bucks. Jayden and Lauren were generous enough to offer her a teaching position at the dojo. It wasn't opened yet, but would be soon enough. Emily could use the time to help with any last minute ideas or help coach the two unofficial students the dojo had already picked up.

James didn't need her help with Terran for the day so Emily decided to swing by the dojo while Mike was at school. Since fainting after Mia's wedding, she had started on a new diet that would boost her iron intake and hopefully prevent another scare from happening, but there were never any certainties in medicine so for the next few weeks, Emily was not allowed to be on her own for long periods of time. It was a bit of a chore having to check in with Mike every couple of hours, or constantly being asked how she was feeling by whoever she was with, but Emily did appreciate everyone looking out for her. Fainting had been terrifying, and with her health and the health of both of her children on the line, she didn't want to take any chances.

Instead of spending the day with James, she would stay with Lauren and Jayden. Even if they didn't need her, it couldn't hurt to hang around the dojo until Mike was home from school.

"This place," she said as she walked in, "looks incredible."

Lauren was midway through a lesson with Troy and Riley when she saw her cousin walking in. She had heard through the grapevine that everything with Emily and the twins was okay and the problem was manageable with supplements and a balanced diet, but it was the first time Lauren saw Emily since she had fainted. Ducking under a punch from Troy and throwing her student off balance, Lauren ran to Emily while Troy face-planted into the mat.

"Don't you ever scare me like that again," Lauren squeezed Emily tightly. Family was still very new to Lauren, but she was a quick learner and had made some irreplaceable bonds with all her Samurai friends. The thought of losing one of them was unbearable.

Riley, seeing her aunt, raced to her back-pack. She wasn't sure when she was going to run into Emily and so carried around the get-well card she had made for her. It was a little bent out of shape from being brought everywhere, but the intent was still there.

Riley's family was strange for her too. Most of her aunts and uncles were still merely just acquaintances to her. She did like them and happily referred to them as her aunts and uncles, but it was something to get used to; something she would happily get used to.

"I maded you a card, Aunt Emy," Riley smiled as she hugged Emily, "I drawed a rainbow so you get better! Did it work?"

"You know," Emily knelt and gave Riley a bright smile, "in the hospital, I told Uncle Mickey someone must have drawn me a very special rainbow because I felt amazing. Thank you, Riley."

Riley happily turned to Lauren with a knowing look, "I told you rainbows make people feel better."

"Go ask Troy how to do a proper warm up," Lauren said, signalling for Riley to get back to her lesson while rolling her eyes. Then she and Emily walked to Antonio's kitchenette and took a seat, "What brings you around?"

"You know that job you offered me? I want to take it. I want to start as soon as I can."

"The dojo's not open yet," Lauren shook her head, "I don't think I can start hiring people yet… I mean, Jayden and Antonio go over that businessy stuff so…"

"Mike and I got a place."

"I thought…"

"Kevin's parents were nice enough to let us rent their safe-house. It's affordable, even for us, but we need some extra money coming in. Mike's busting his butt trying to keep our expenses covered but he needs help. I don't have any qualifications to work anywhere else and even if I did, I don't think I could start a job and then leave and take some of their money with me. It doesn't feel right to me. I know I can't paint… though it looks like all the renovations are done already but I can do anything you need me to do before it starts and I'll work hard, I…"

"I want to help," Lauren nodded and gave Emily a smile, "Relax, the dojo's hopefully opening soon and I promise, you'll have the perfect job waiting for you, but let me talk to Jayden about getting you started on something now."

"Thank you," Emily leaned forward and hugged Lauren tightly, "Mike and I really need the help and this would be… amazing! You're amazing! Even if I just get like… five bucks a day…"

"I spent more on ice-cream for Riley on the way over here," Lauren frowned and shook her head, "No way. You'll at least get… ten dollars."

Lauren's smirk made Emily laugh. She gave her cousin one more hug before looking over at the two "students". Troy was trying his best with Riley, but it seemed martial arts wasn't a natural talent for her – at least, not the sit down and focus part. Lauren didn't want to push Riley too hard before she was officially a student and while Mia and Kevin were out of the country and Riley was under her watch, so most of Riley's routines were learning how to warm up properly and how to calm the mind, practice focus, and improve concentration. Understandably, the five year old didn't find these lessons fun at all and preferred learning to kick ass.

Because that wouldn't happen, and Riley was a pain in the ass even on her good days, she was giving her teachers trouble. Troy was showing her how to meditate but Riley kept opening her eyes and sticking her fingers in Troy's nose, ears, or mouth.

"I think I can help," Emily said to Lauren with a smile, "With the kid. I was a bit like her when I first started learning. You know, because of the whole second born thing. Being a Samurai just didn't… come naturally. And I had a few attention problems too. Ask Serena, keeping me still for long periods of time was a war. Never mind trying to teach me Japanese symbols before I could tell the difference between a little "p" and a little "b" or little "d" in English. I got Riley, you take… the big kid."

"Troy," Lauren nodded and shook hands with Emily. "You get Riley to meditate for ten minutes and I don't care what Jayden says. You're hired today."

Emily smirked and got up from the chair, "Hey, Riles, I've got a fun game to play. Do you know how to play imagination?"

Riley looked over and pulled her finger from Troy's ear, "No. Is it fun?"

"When I was little, I thought it was a lot of fun. Go find a corner and sit down. I'll show you what we do."


	83. Playing With Swords

Jayden and Antonio had stopped by the dojo before Emily had to leave which gave Lauren a chance to talk to the two of them about Emily's request. They wanted to help their friend out as much as they could, and Emily had to admit, using her puppy eyes during the conversation was a big help to sealing the deal. The dojo was set to open soon, but Emily was already being paid for her efforts with Riley, and had earned herself forty bucks for the day.

When she got home, she took the money from her wallet. Half of her day's earnings would go to necessities such as groceries or paying the month's rent. The other half would be extra cash – emergency funds of possibly even a date night for herself and Mike.

This was how they decided to split it. Half of everything they earned went towards the necessities and the other half was for whatever they needed it for. Patrick and Christina, their landlords, were being very generous with the rent, and it was quite affordable now that Emily also had a job and a way to earn money. The yellow Ranger smiled as she looked down at the two twenty dollar bills.

"I've never been happier to see you," she stuck the emergency money in the emergency jar and then walked to the kitchen. As soon as she opened the cupboard to pull out the dog food, Storm was on her feet and waiting eagerly by her bowl.

"I've only been gone a few hours," Emily chuckled and stroked her dog's head as she poured the dog food. Just then, the door opened and Mike walked into the house, singing to himself. Emily and Storm both looked up with Emily trying to stifle a laugh. "I guess singing lullabies are out of the question."

"Emily? You're home?" Mike hung up his jacket and looked to his wife, "But I thought…"

"I just got home. I haven't been alone for more than five minutes, I promise."

"Good. I know it's a pain. If I could take your place, I would, you know that."

"It's fine. I get to spend the day with the others," Emily shrugged and pulled out the twenty dollars from her pocket, "Look what I made today. The other half is in the emergency jar."

"Forty? Nice. I guess that means you're working at the dojo. Jayden and Lauren are okay with you starting early, right?"

"I'll be taking the younger students," Emily nodded her head and gave Mike a big, happy smile. "I got Riley to sit down, meditate, and enjoy it. Jayden and Lauren are great with the older students but I don't think they know how to handle teaching kids yet."

"And you do?"

"I have talent. Besides, I have to know. I'll have two soon."

Mike smiled as he leaned forward and kissed Emily's stomach, "You two haven't been giving mommy a hard time, have you?"

"I am hungry," Emily nodded her head and smirked, "Can you get started on dinner while I take a quick shower?"

-Samurai-

Riley kicked her feet as she sat on the couch. After her lesson at the dojo, Lauren had taken her to Antonio and Jayden's house where she had nothing to do. They didn't have toys; there was nothing to watch on TV, and no baby or dog to play with. She had the toys and games in her bag, but none of them interested her at the time.

"I can put up flyers… Emily can help," Lauren said over in the kitchen and Riley turned around on the couch, leaning against the back to listen in on the grown-ups. "If we're just waiting for the final okay from the city, we might as well start advertising now! The more we promote the dojo, the more people will want to sign up, right?"

"That is how it works," Jayden nodded, "but I'd rather not jump the gun. It's not that I don't have faith, but what if, for some reason, we don't get approved and need to push the date back?"

"Why wouldn't we get approved?"

"Well…"

Riley rolled her eyes as some big words came out of her uncle's mouth. She didn't know what he was saying and if she was honest, she didn't care. She decided, instead, she would do some exploring. Her uncles had to have something interesting in the house for her to play with.

She lifted the couch cushion. In her old house, she would usually find something buried between the cushions. This house was clean, though. Riley dropped the cushion and had another look around. She decided it would be fun to play in the bedroom. At the very least, her uncles had to have a bed she could jump on. Without them noticing she went into their room, closed the door, and climbed on their bed. Just as she was about to push off for the first jump she stopped. She looked over to the dresser and saw what looked like the sword Troy had been using in his lesson at the dojo. Emily and Lauren hadn't let Riley play with a sword, stating even the pretend ones were too dangerous, but Riley disagreed. She had a toy sword she used to play pink Samurai Ranger, and it wasn't dangerous. It had destroyed a few vases and knocked over some of the things around the house, but no one had gotten hurt from it. Riley was a great Samurai.

There was only one problem. Riley was convinced she was much taller now that she was five, but she still couldn't reach the top of her uncles' tall dresser. She did know how to climb up. She opened the bottom drawer all the way, and then opened the one on top just a little less. She made a stairway from the drawers until she was high enough to reach the sword. She picked it up.

"Big girl sword," Riley smiled. She carefully pulled it off the dresser and carried it with her down the makeshift stairs. She then tried to lift it, deciding she would swing it around like the Samurai Rangers did. When she did that, she saw it started to come apart. "Uh oh…"

She set the sword down and decided to check it out. She pulled just a little bit on the piece that was coming off and noticed it came off rather easily. What was more intriguing was that there was something shiny underneath. Riley decided to take the broken piece off completely and her eyes widened.

"A real metal sword! Just like Samurai!" she lifted the sword up. Given how big the sword was compared to her tiny body, Riley had a hard time swinging it around. She tried her best not to hit the furniture, knowing her aunt and uncles would get very mad if she broke something.

Then she decided to play Samurai while jumping on the bed. It was a game she played when left in her room by herself for too long, and usually involved her pretending to cut down the evil teddy bears with her toy sword. She climbed on the bed and then pulled the sword up. She swung it once, lost balance, dropped the sword on the bed and fell on her butt on the pillows.

"Meanie," she stuck her tongue out at the sword before she went to pick it up again. She got back to her feet and this time kept a tight grip on the sword. She clumsily swung it around a few times before taking a misstep off the bed. She screamed as she took a fall and the sword went down with her.

-Samurai-

"What's wrong with flyers just announcing the dojo is opening soon?" Lauren decided to ask after ten minutes of back and forth with her brother. "At least that can spark interest in people, right? Then when we're sure of the date, we can start really promoting the dojo."

"Sounds like a fair compromise," Antonio nodded and turned to his fiancé, "C'mon, Jayden, we've got to get word of mouth going soon. A few flyers could really help."

"Alright, but you two can handle that. I don't really know where to begin with…" Jayden stopped and all three Samurai heard two screams from the bedroom. The first was a regular, scared herself Riley scream that ended in a thump, likely from her having fallen. The second was a piercing, pained scream that made Lauren's and the boys' blood ran cold.

"When did she get into the bedroom?" Antonio asked as all three of them raced over. Lauren opened the door and her eyes were instantly drawn to the blood on Riley's pants. Jayden was quick to notice the katana Antonio had bought him for Valentine's Day was on the floor and unsheathed. Riley had been playing with it.

"What the hell did you think you were doing?" Jayden shouted to Riley as he picked up the katana. He was worried for her and knew just how dangerous sword-play could be, especially for an unsupervised child.

Riley wasn't interested in the yelling, but Jayden's screaming at her only made her scream louder. Her leg hurt.

"Jay, not now," Antonio pulled his fiancé back while Lauren removed Riley's pants, hoping the blood made whatever injury Riley had sustained look worse than it was actually was. She found a cut, a deep cut, just above Riley's knee.

"It hurts!" Riley screamed and tried to cling desperately to her aunt.

"I know," Lauren nodded and took the little girl in her arms, "I know it hurts."

Antonio had gone to the bathroom to get a wet cloth. He placed it on Riley's leg to clean up the blood and hoped it might also help a little bit with the pain. Lauren pressed down on the cloth and walked with Riley to the door. Antonio already had his hands on the car keys.

Jayden placed the katana back on the dresser and raced after the trio. He grabbed Lauren's arm.

"Ji can fix this," he said. Lauren nodded her head. Taking Riley home would be easier than going to the doctor's or the hospital.


	84. Doubts And Worries

Riley would be okay. Ji had the means to treat her cut without taking her to a doctor's office or the emergency room and the friendly face helped to put the little girl at ease. The experience had been traumatic for her, but Riley had learned her lesson about playing with toys that didn't belong to her – at least, Lauren hoped she had.

While Riley rested comfortably on the couch with her leg propped up to reduce the swelling around the stitches she had needed, Lauren paced back and forth in a panic. It was getting late into the night, and as they had promised, Mia and Kevin were due to call any minute. Lauren couldn't hide what had happened to their daughter, but she was terrified of the consequences. She had taken her eye off Riley and let her cut herself with a sword. The experience as it had happened was terrifying, but it could have been far worse. Riley had admitted to having jumped on the bed. If she had impaled herself or if the cut had been any deeper on any other part of her body, the injury could have been more damaging or even fatal.

"I can take the blame for it," Jayden suggested as he brought his sister a tea. He hoped it would calm her nerves just a little bit. "Antonio bought me that katana, kids wander, I should have warned Riley not to play with it. I should have told her the bedrooms were off-limits."

"She's my responsibility, Jayden," Lauren shook her head. She would refuse to let her brother take another hit for her. She had asked too much of him already. This was clearly her fault and though she was terrified, she would take responsibility, "They left their kid with me. Mia and Kevin are going to flip when I tell them. They trusted me and I let them down."

"You didn't let them down. Riley's going to be fine. She'll have a scar, but it'll give her a bit of character."

"Not that she needs anymore," Antonio muttered as he walked in, "This kid seriously needs to learn to think things through before she really starts to hurt herself."

"She could have been killed!" Lauren shouted and then instantly came to regret it as Riley stirred. The painkillers did what they needed to do, keeping her asleep in spite of the noise. "If they didn't trust me to keep their daughter out of trouble, they might as well have left her alone for the week!" Lauren took a seat on her stool and dropped her head in her hands, "They're going to hate me. They're never going to trust me again. I've disappointed them."

"It's going to be okay," Antonio sat beside his sister in-law and rubbed her back comfortingly, "All that matters is that Riley's okay, and she's okay because of you. You were amazing back there, Lauren."

"I let her out of my sight…"

"She's five years old. She's got to start gaining some independence at some point," Antonio said with a little shrug, "Besides, what matters is how you responded. You didn't freeze up back there. You did what you needed to do to make sure Riley was okay and stuck by her the whole way through. Mia and Kevin will understand."

The laptop in the corner of the room began to ring, causing Lauren to jump up to her feet and bite her thump in terror. Antonio gave her a comforting squeeze before he got up to answer the call.

"What's up, Kiwi tourists!" he said with a smile and blocked as much of the background as he could while Lauren tried to calm herself down. Jayden, meanwhile, went to sit beside Riley, hoping to wake her up so she could talk with her parents.

"Hey, Antonio," Mia and Kevin said over the video chat from their hotel room in New Zealand, "We weren't expecting you. Are you visiting?"

"Sort of," Antonio nodded his head, "So, what's it like in New Zealand? Is it as beautiful as the internet claims it to be?"

Lauren paced back and forth, worried for what would come next. There was no hiding what had happened, and Lauren could live for the next couple of days hiding a secret this big from some of her closest friends. Riley meant the world to Mia and Kevin, Lauren had seen that every night on the video chat. Any harm that came to their little girl would be paid for severely.

"Oh, you know," Antonio smirked, answering Mia and Kevin's questions about what had happened while they had been gone. Though they had kept in contact, their conversation was more centered on Riley and what she had done during the day. All they knew about the events going on at home were the pictures Riley had drawn during the day, how many times she had gone down the slide at the park, and how much she missed them and wanted them to come home and bring her lots of presents. "Just the usual. Jayden and I are working on all the paperwork to get the dojo up, Lauren's teaching the couple of students, who are making some nice progress from what I've seen."

"And the others?" Mia asked, "As you know, it's been hard keeping in touch. You guys are getting ready for bed, but we've already had tomorrow's lunch."

"And with sightseeing, going to the beaches, checking out a few tourist attractions, we only ever have time to keep up with Riley's day," Kevin said. "Anything new happening?"

"Well," Antonio looked over his shoulder and he could see Lauren wasn't ready to talk yet, "Have you heard of what happened after your wedding?"

"No, what?"

"Mia, do you know if there are any awards for being a secret Bridezilla?"

"I was on my best behaviour, I swear! What did that little monster of honour say about me?"

"Nothing," Antonio shook his head, "it's hard to talk when you've fainted."

"What?" Mia and Kevin both cried and Antonio was thankful technology hadn't improved to the point where they could reach through the screen and strangle him. He hadn't broken the news gently, but there was really no other way he could put it, not when he knew what would follow it up. At the very least, this kept their mind a little distracted once they heard what happened to their daughter.

"Iron-deficiency anemia," Antonio explained, "It's no biggie as long as Emily keeps her iron in check. Given what it could have been, or what could have happened, it's really no big deal."

"So everyone's okay?" Mia asked worriedly while Kevin pinched the bridge of his nose, shook his head, and sighed loudly. "Emily? The twins…"

"All fine. Emily was putting your wedding presents in the trunk when she fainted. We were lucky Jayden and James were right behind her. It's nothing serious, but I don't want to think of what could have happened if Emily had been left alone, passed out, outside, in the dark by herself."

"Yeah," Mia nodded and Antonio could see her leaning into Kevin a little more for comfort, "It's a really good thing they were there. Where is Jayden? I feel like I need to thank him."

"He's with Lauren," Antonio flicked his head in their direction, "Something happened today that gave her a bit of a fright. Lauren, why don't you talk to Mia and Kevin about it? They are awesome with this stuff."

Lauren looked to Antonio like a deer would look into headlights and shook her head but he took her arm and pulled her over. He sat her down in the seat and stood behind her.

Lauren wiped the tears from her eyes, "Hey… Hi, guys…"

"Are you okay? Lauren, what happened?" Mia asked. "You can tell us anything, you know that."

Lauren breathed in deeply and then shook her head, "I took my eyes off her for ten minutes! It was only ten minutes and she…"

"What happened?" Kevin asked, his voice sounding very unhappy with Lauren.

"Ji just finished putting stitches in her leg…"

"Is she okay?" Mia tried to hide the worry and anger on her face, but it was still obvious. Lauren nodded her head.

"Yeah."

"Then what happened? Were you at the park? Did it happen at the dojo?"

"I bought Jayden a Katana for Valentine's Day," Antonio said, "Imported from Japan, as authentic as they can get."

"Antonio," Mia looked up at the screen to glance at him, "I swear to God, if this has anything to do with what happened to my daughter I'm going to shove that Katana so far up your ass…"

"It's not his fault," Lauren interrupted with a look of guilt, "Riley and I went to their place to talk about opening the dojo and she went to their room to play. I thought she was watching TV on the couch, but she somehow climbed her way up to reach the sword and decided to play with it while jumping on the bed. I'm so sorry…"

Mia and Kevin exchanged looks before turning back to the screen, "Where is she?"

"Jayden's trying to wake her up, but I think she needs to…"

"Wake her up," Mia growled. Within minutes, Jayden carried a tired Riley over to the computer and sat her down on Lauren's lap.

"Riley Walker, care to explain what it was you were doing today at Uncle Jay and Uncle Antonio's house?" Mia spoke sternly with her daughter. Through tired eyes, Riley looked to her parents.

"I played with a sword."

"Do you have any idea what could have happened to you?" Mia growled. "You are a five year old girl now, Riley. I expect you to behave like one."

"I hurt myself."

"You're lucky you only needed stitches," Kevin said with an equally stern voice. "Go to bed. We'll talk about this more when we're home."

"I'll take her to bed," Jayden said and lifted Riley back into his arms. She was already starting to fall asleep on his shoulder as he carried her off. Lauren looked miserably to the computer screen.

"I'm really sorry. This is my fault. I take full responsibility…"

"How did she get a sword in her hands without anyone knowing?" Kevin asked.

"Lauren didn't know there was a sword in the house," Antonio placed his hands on his sister in-law's shoulders, "She had no way of knowing, either. But you should have seen her with Riley. She took charge and kept her… about as calm as you can keep a five year old."

"Riley's a handful," Kevin nodded his head and then sighed, "Look, just keep a closer eye on her, not that she'll be going anywhere for the next little while. Don't worry about it, Lauren, you're trying your best."

"I'll understand if it's not enough…"

"We still trust you," Mia assured her. "It would have been worse if you weren't there. Just, make sure no one else needs medical treatment while we're away. We've got to go now."

"I am really, really sorry," Lauren said one more time. Kevin and Mia gave her a little nod before they shut off the video chat. Lauren dropped her head in her hands, "They hate me."

"No, they don't," Antonio sat beside her and wrapped his arm around her shoulders. "The sword was up high…"

"I should have kept my eye on her."

"She's five! And she was only in the other room!"

"She could have killed herself!"

"But she didn't. And she's fine now thanks to you. Jayden and I were there too, you're not the only one responsible, you know."

"They left me in charge! They trusted me! I let their kid almost impale herself with a sword! Oh God! Antonio, what's going to happen to the dojo?"

"What do you mean?"

"I can't keep my five year old goddaughter from almost killing herself with a katana, what's going to happen when I'm training other people's kids? They won't have _sword_ swords, but martial arts is…"

"Lauren, you're freaking out over nothing. We're getting the insurance; parents will know what their kids are getting into. It's fine…"

"It won't be fine if some kid breaks his neck! Oh God, Antonio, what if some kid breaks his neck on my watch? What if some kid breaks his neck doing something I taught him?"

"Lauren…"

"I can't… I can't do it," Lauren shook her head and ran to the front door. She grabbed her jacket just as Antonio grabbed her by the arm.

"You're an amazing sensei, Lauren. It'll be fine…"

Lauren pulled her arm free and walked out, shaking her head miserably. She slammed the door shut, but Antonio opened it quickly and called out, "What about Riley?"

"You'll do a better job anyways!" Lauren shouted back then disappeared into the forest. Antonio grumbled as he slipped on his boots and ran after her, but as he reached the end of the yard he realized he had no idea where Lauren had gone to, and he likely wasn't going to find her anytime soon.


	85. Parenting Mistakes

It was supposed to be a movie night, but Mike had a different idea in mind. Instead of bringing popcorn and a DVD to his wife who was sitting on the couch, he brought over a bowl of popcorn and a book of baby names he had borrowed from Serena earlier that day.

"Alright, so the ending's not exactly cheesy romantic, and it's going to have a bit of blood, a lot of screaming, and probably some cussing at the male lead, but I think this is still going to be an enjoyable movie."

He dropped the book down on Emily's lap. She picked it up, read the cover and sighed.

"Mike, just because it's rectangular and has a picture on the front, that doesn't mean it's a DVD, a Blue Ray, or a video game. This is what we call a book. And it's not even the kind with a plot."

"It's got a plot," Mike chuckled, "A young couple realize they're going to have a baby. They've managed to get a home, all the supplies they need, and are getting set up for their life as parents. Suddenly, their world is turned upside down when they figure out its twins and they have no idea what to name their beautiful bundles of joy. Will they come up with names in time, or will their twins be baby gender one and baby gender two? Sounds interesting to me."

"And yet, you still haven't figured out how the laundry machine works," Emily chuckled. "Mike, you said it yourself; we don't even know what we're having yet."

"An Alien baby would be pretty cool," Mike chuckled and was smacked in the stomach with a pillow, "I'm kidding. I've thought of that already. We're having two kids, so I figured if we both pick a boy name and a girl name we're covered no matter what they come out as."

"What does that mean?"

"Well, if we have two girls, we have two girl names. If we have two boys, we'll have two boys names. If we have one of each, we can each name one."

"Alright, but do we have to do it now?" Emily looked to and rubbed her stomach, "I don't even know which kid is where yet. And at this stage, the best names I have for them are Barfy and Pissy, and those sound like names for dwarfs eight and nine."

"I'd be cool with dwarf babies too," Mike smirked. He was smacked again with a pillow. "I'm kidding. Can we at least look through the book? Maybe make a list of names we'll consider?"

"Sure," Emily smiled and opened the book.

-Samurai-

Lauren hugged herself for warmth, having forgotten how cold the night could get when she was in the middle of nowhere. She needed some time to herself to think about what had happened with Riley and what she was getting herself into with the dojo. She had been so excited about getting her life as a sensei started while working with her brother, she had forgotten about the risks she was taking. She knew how dangerous training could get. She had been hurt many times training in the last couple of years, and that was at a time in her life where she was a successful Samurai who knew exactly what she was doing. Training kids, especially taking on kids as young as Riley was a whole different ball game. If one of them got hurt on her watch, she wasn't sure she would be able to brush it off. She didn't want people getting hurt. She didn't want to be the reason people got hurt.

Or worse. It could always get worse.

And even without the dojo, she couldn't get Riley out of her head. Mia and Kevin had tried to hide it, and they had been nice about it, but Lauren could tell they were angry and upset. Lauren knew she had let them down. They had trusted her with their daughter – their one and only daughter – and Riley almost died on her watch.

Lauren sunk down to the ground and shook her head. She felt miserable and guilty.

A strong and cold wind blew, freezing Lauren to the core. She decided to suck it up for now and find someplace to seek shelter for the night. She wanted to stay away from the city – unable to bear the thought of having to look anyone in the eye after what had happened, and so decided to head further away from town, towards the town limit.

-Samurai-

When Emily opened her eyes she could see it was dark. She couldn't remember exactly when, but she had fallen asleep while skimming through the list of baby names for the twins. It seemed Mike had done exactly the same, but only after laying her down comfortably on the couch and draping a warm blanket over her. Then he sprawled himself out on the smaller love-seat. It didn't look comfortable, but Mike was the kind who could sleep anywhere.

Emily repaid him the kind gesture as she got off the couch and laid the blanket over him. She had woken up and already knew it would be a while before she would fall back to sleep.

She walked to the kitchen to get herself a snack. For her convince, James had written up a list of snacks that were good to help her keep her iron levels up, and because Mike was the paranoid husband, he stuck the list on the fridge and coloured the borders with yellow and green highlighter. Even in the dark, Emily could see it.

"Oh yeah," Emily stuck her tongue out at the list. She did follow it, but from time to time she needed a little variety. She put her hand in the cookie jar, "I'm having chocolate chip."

Something jiggled as she touched the cookie, making her drop it back into the jar and spin around to the door. The sound had come from the door, and there was a shadow at the window. Someone was at the door. Emily checked the time on the stove. It was the middle of the night. No one should have been at the door in the middle of the night.

"M… Mike?" Emily grabbed a cookie, but instead of eating it she tossed it to her sleeping husband, "We have company."

Before Mike woke up the lock on the door gave up the battle and the door opened. Someone walked into the house, making Emily scream. She launched another cookie at the intruder. The intruder jumped, and from what Emily could make out of the silhouette, adopted a defensive stance. This intruder knew how to fight.

The scream pulled Mike from his sleep as he jumped to his feet, grabbed the closest thing he could reach and ran to his wife. He took her in his arms and held out his mystery weapon. Suddenly, the lights came on and the intruder revealed herself. Mike noticed his mystery weapon was the pillow from the couch.

"Lauren?" Emily asked, seeing her cousin standing in the doorway, "What the hell are you doing here?"

"You threw a cookie at me?" Lauren looked down at the object that had hit her, and then looked up to see Mike holding a pillow, "Wait, you thought someone was breaking into your house so you throw a cookie at me and tried to defend yourselves with a pillow? Wait a minute, where's your dog?"

Emily groaned and pointed down at Lauren's feet, where Storm was sniffing the older girl's ankles. Satisfied the stranger was actually a friend Storm rolled over and exposed her stomach.

"At least I didn't know she was there," Lauren muttered.

"What are you doing here?" Mike asked. He tossed the pillow back to the couch and glared intensely at Lauren, "_I_ almost had a baby!"

"Emily told me you moved," Lauren said. "I thought I could spend the night here. Crash on the couch. I would have been gone before either of you had to wake up."

"You didn't think to knock?"

"I… uh… I didn't want to wake you up," Lauren looked down her feet and dragged them over to the kitchen chair. She had a seat and dropped her head in her hands. It didn't take a genius to know there was something wrong so Mike and Emily sat with her.

"What's going on? Where's Riley?"

"At home, with about a dozen stitches in her leg," Lauren muttered sadly and sighed loudly. "I screwed up."

"Stitches?" Emily asked and turned to Mike worriedly. He shrugged his shoulders. As far as he was concerned, they hadn't gotten a phone call about Riley. If the stitches were a really big problem, the late hour wouldn't have stopped anyone from calling.

"She was with me," Lauren explained the story of what happened to Riley and watched Mike and Emily's expressions carefully, hoping she would be able to read them and they would be of some comfort to her. When she was done, she shook her head, "I can't even stop my goddaughter from hurting herself. What am I going to do with a class full of students her age? I'll be in charge of all of them."

"Yeah," Emily nodded, "but you're getting insurance, right?"

"Insurance won't keep a leg from getting cut off."

"But you're not using real swords," Emily looked to Mike who nodded in agreement, "That would just be stupid."

"Yeah… I guess, but…"

"You're opening a dojo, Lauren. You're going to have a few ouchies," Emily gave her cousin a reassuring hug, "Everyone coming in is going to expect that. Bumps, bruises, maybe there will be one or two broken bones…"

"Great…"

"But your students are going to come out stronger and smarter. And if you make rules and enforce them, you may only see a couple injuries every year. For instance, no weapons training until you've reached a certain level. No sparring until you've shown you can respect the equipment and other students. You're going to be fine."

"And what happened with Riley could have happened to anyone," Mike added with a smile. He gave Lauren a pat on the back, "Riley playing with a real sword was her stupid move. It sounds like you did everything right… except maybe make sure she was on the couch, but she's five. Those buggers are tricky. You should have seen the crap that happened to me when I was five."

"But what if it was more than just stitches?" Lauren asked. "What if the sword took off her leg or cut her somewhere else?"

"Be really, really thankful it didn't," Mike said with a little laugh, "Sometimes you get really lucky, and you've just got to learn from that. Now you know you have to keep both eyes on Riley all the time."

"Mia and Kevin learned that the hard way too," Emily chuckled and lifted up her leg. She showed Lauren the scar on her calf from where she had been shot, "Remember this day? Mia and Kevin had no idea Riley even left her bedroom. All parents mess up sometimes."

"Are you sure?"

"I hope so," Emily nodded her head and let out a little sigh, "I mean, I love being an aunt, and I guess I'm good at it, but I don't know the first thing about being a mom. My last kid was… well, actually a couple days older than me. I'm going to mess up."

"I'm definitely going to mess up," Mike said, "I'm practicing with diapers, but I just can't figure them out. We're going to have a few leaks before it's time to potty train."

"Which means I'll be changing most diapers," Emily muttered and then turned back to Lauren, "Look, you're already here so you can spend the night. You did leave Riley with someone, right?"

"Yeah."

"Tomorrow, you should go pick her up. I can spend the day with you guys at the dojo or you can come for a play date with Terran. Riley likes you the best, and I'm sure she'll want to stay close to you while she gets used to the stitches."

"What if she falls on a sword again?"

"She won't," Mike promised. "I can get the couch ready for you."

As he got up and walked to the living room, Emily gave Lauren another smile and a hug, "It's okay."

"What about Mia and Kevin? I've told them and… they aren't going to trust me with Riley again, are they?"

"I think they will," Emily nodded, "But a little puppy pout won't hurt. I can teach you… tomorrow, when the sun's actually up."


	86. Dreaming In Red

Their honeymoon in New Zealand had been everything Mia wanted it to be. Everywhere they had gone had been beautiful, and because they had been in the southern hemisphere, they got the chance to enjoy the summer sun, the warmth, and the amazing beaches. They had gone sightseeing, eaten out at some of the best restaurants, and spent a lot of time in their hotel room.

But they were back in the States, standing by the luggage carousel and waiting for their last bag to come around. Their honeymoon had been a dream, but they hadn't forgotten the news they had received about their daughter only a couple nights before. They had checked in with their family several times and knew Riley was going to be perfectly fine, especially once the stitches came out, but they were still eager to get home, take care of their daughter, and see that everything was okay with their own eyes.

While Mia kept a vigilant eye on the carousel, Kevin paced back and forth with the bags they had already collected. He was a lot more anxious about getting home than Mia.

"What if she can't fight? Stitches in the knee, that's pretty…"

"Just above the knee," Mia reminded him, "And why would she ever have to fight? Xandred's gone. The Nighlok are gone."

"We signed her up at the Shiba's Dojo," Kevin said, "If she's going to be a Samurai, she'll need to learn to fight."

"And she will. You heard the others. She'll be a regular kid, you know that. A kid who, after we kick her ass for playing with swords, will grow up to kick ass, just like her daddy."

"Are you sure they've been taking care of her? Cleaning the stitches, around the stitches? What if there is an infection? What if they have to amputate?"

"Now you're just being silly," Mia finally saw the bag she needed and reached across to grab it. When she had it, she rolled it over and grabbed Kevin by the arm, "Let's just go home, yell some ears off, and then we can relax."

-Samurai-

Lauren winced as Troy took another fall and landed roughly on his back. He groaned loudly and slowly pulled himself up to his feet while Lauren rushed over to help him.

"Are you okay?"

"Fine," Troy nodded, "Sorry, Sensei, I know I need to focus. I just… I haven't been sleeping well."

"Why don't you take five minutes?" Lauren pointed to the bench. Troy rubbed the back of his neck.

"My dreams are coming back. Has Sensei Jayden…?"

"I heard a little bit," Lauren nodded. "You're dreaming of the Samurai Rangers? The red Rangers?"

"Not as much anymore. Now it's… Megaforce. Do you know what the hell that is?"

"Nope," Lauren shook her head, "I've never heard of that. Are you sure you're not just watching too much TV?"

"Maybe, but… it's really starting to bother me. The other night, I was actually in a battle against these things called… Boogies? Loogies?"

"Loogies?" Lauren asked and tried to stifle a laugh, "And I thought Moogers was funny."

"What's that?"

"Nothing," Lauren sat on the bench with Troy and shrugged, "I hear talking about your dreams helps, so why don't you just… get it all out?"

"But we're training."

"A strong mind is just as powerful as a strong body," Lauren said, "If these dreams are bothering you, it's best we figure it out. So, Megaforce and Loogies, huh?"

"You think that's weird? There's also a giant tiki."

"And these… Power Rangers? They're like… heroes, right?"

"Yeah."

"Megaforce, Loogies, and tikis? What a team…"

"I know it sounds ridiculous, but it's like I told Sensei Jayden, these dreams feel very real. It's like they've already happened or they will happen. Sometimes, I wake up and expect to find myself where the red spandex. I'm not a leader. I couldn't possibly be a Ranger, right? Just the other day, I couldn't even stop Riley from sticking her fingers up my nose. How am I going to stop Loogies from destroying the planet?"

"A giant tissue?"

"The only thing giant is that tiki head the Rangers lug around with them," Troy muttered, "Is this… do you think this is all crazy? Sensei Jayden said sometimes your dreams try to tell you something. Do you think maybe… could my dream be trying to tell me something? Could I be the red Ranger and not know it? I don't want to be a Ranger. I don't want to lead a team. I don't even really know how to make friends. I never really had to…"

"Troy, just calm down," Lauren placed her hands on Troy's shoulder and gave him a smile, "Look, I know a thing or two about the Rangers and I doubt they would ever ask someone to be a Ranger, never mind be the red Ranger, if they didn't think he, or she, was good enough to get the job done. If this dream really is some higher power trying to speak to you, maybe you do need to listen. Or maybe you need to stop watching TV and relax. Either way, I think you just need to relax."

"I do?"

Lauren nodded, "Our time together is short, but how about we make the most of it. I promise, if this tiki headed, loogie fighting Megaforce Ranger dream is true, you'll be ready for whatever's going to happen. By the time I'm done with you, you're going to be someone I trust with my life, and there are only a handful of people with that privilege."

"And if it's all just as crazy as it sounds?"

"Knowing how to defend yourself never hurts," Lauren shrugged and gave Troy a smile. "Why don't you go home? You can come back tomorrow refreshed and ready to learn what it takes to be a red Ranger."

"Do you even know what it takes to be a red Ranger?" Troy asked then started to collect his things and stuff them into his bag. Lauren shrugged her shoulders.

"I'll do my research. Just make sure you get some sleep. Don't stress out too much."

"I promise. Thank you, Sensei!"

Lauren smiled and watched as Troy left. She started to pick up the training equipment they had used and couldn't help but notice there was a grin on Emily's face. Though she was playing "imagination" with Riley, she had listened in on Lauren and Troy's conversation. The red Ranger crossed her arms over her chest and sighed, "What?"

"Loogies! That's funny!"

Lauren rolled her eyes and then looked up at the clock, "Oh, shoot! Emily, Riley, we're going to be late!"

-Samurai-

Mia's mother had been at the airport to pick up the newlyweds and instead of driving them back to their house, a little welcome home gathering had been planned at the Shiba House. The couple was tired from their flight, and the jet-lag was nothing to laugh about either, but their excitement to see their friends again kept them awake long enough.

"Leave your bags in the car," Noa told her daughter and son in-law, "I'll drive you home later."

"We need one bag," Mia insisted as Kevin went around to the trunk. "We bought everyone a couple souvenirs."

"Let me get it," Noa said, "You two head inside. Everyone's waiting for you."

Kevin nodded and joined Mia at the door to the Shiba House. Before they walked in, he took her hand, "Riley's going to be there, and everyone else…"

"I'm sure they know what she did…"

"Can we yell at our daughter in front of everyone, though? I mean, we've got to let her know what she did was stupid, but does it have to be in public? Would that be bad parenting?"

"I guess we're going to find out. We'll play it by ear, okay?"

"Okay," Kevin nodded and was about to open the door when he heard someone call out. He and Mia turned around and saw Lauren, Emily, and Riley running up to the house.

"You don't see us," Emily said as they raced past the couple and into the house, slamming the door behind them. Mia started to chuckle.

"Someone's late. Should we give them some time to get set up with the others?"

"Naw," Kevin shook his head and opened the door wide to catch Lauren, Emily, and Riley as they were taking their jackets off. Riley buried her face in Emily's chest to hide. Her parents had promised to talk about her swordplay when they came home, and now they were home. She knew she was in a lot of trouble.

The other Samurai knew they were home from having spied out the window and came to the hallway to greet them with big smiles.

"Welcome back, guys," Jayden said and started with the welcome home hugs. When Mia got to Riley and Emily, she crossed her arms over her chest and glared at her sister and daughter, "Who should I start with first?"

"They, uh, they told you, huh?" Emily shifted Riley in her arms and gulped nervously, "I only spent one night in the hospital. And it's nothing serious."

"And I had to hear about it from Antonio."

"I didn't want to ruin the honeymoon," Emily shrugged her shoulders and looked to Mia with her puppy eyes, "Especially since it wasn't serious."

"You're lucky," Mia said and then hugged her sister. When she pulled away, she placed her hand on Riley's back, "Alright, Riley, we need to talk."

Riley shook her head and tightened her hold around Emily's neck, "I no want to talk. I learned my lesson."

"No, we're talking," Mia took the little girl from Emily's arms and carried her to the common room where she set her down on the couch. Meanwhile, Kevin looked to Lauren. She mouthed to him: "I'm really sorry."

"It's alright," he smiled reassuringly, "Riley's a bit of a troublemaker. Thanks for stepping up."

He gave the red Ranger a hug and then followed Mia to the common room for his talk with their daughter. Mike placed his hands on Lauren's shoulders.

"See, it's all good. They know you didn't cut her leg off yourself. It was an accident."

Lauren breathed out a sigh of relief and nodded her head, "I think I'll feel even better once the stitches come out and we can forget this ever happened."


	87. Honeymoon Souvenirs

While Kevin discussed his honeymoon with the boys, Mia showed off the pictures of the beaches and the locations they had visited to the girls and Riley.

"Why is there no snow?" Riley asked as she noticed all the picture of her parents' trip were bright, sunny, and warm days, days Riley hadn't seen for a while. In Panorama City, the weather was still cold and grey.

"On the other side of the world, it's summer," Mia explained and gave her daughter a gentle squeeze. She and Kevin had given Riley their little talk about her being a little more responsible now that she was getting older, and it seemed the lesson had sunk in. As it turned out, getting stabbed with a sword was a great way to teach a child not to play with anything pointed, sharp, or heavy. By the time Kevin and Mia could bring up the matter, Riley already had a speech prepared about how sorry she was, how much the sword had hurt her, and how she had already punished herself by not sleeping with her beloved teddy bear for a full night. She was hoping to get out of trouble and it had worked. Mia and Kevin decided a night without her bear to protect her from the dark, and the pain of the stitches was punishment enough. After all, it seemed she had learned her lesson, and that was all they wanted.

"It's summer?" Riley asked and then shook her head, "No, that's not right."

"Yeah, it is, Riley. Look, this is me and daddy on the beach in our bathing suits."

"You don't look cold," Riley said. "Was it an inside beach?"

"No, we were outside."

"But it's winter. Where's the snow?"

Mia sighed and gave her daughter another squeeze, "Oh, there's no fooling you, sweetheart. You're right, daddy and I were inside. We were at an inside beach."

"I thought so," Riley said and nestled deeper into her mother's arms. Mia looked up at the girls around her and did her best to hold back a little laugh. Her mother put her hands on her shoulders.

"It looks like you two had a lot of fun."

"We did," Mia said with a big smile on her face, "New Zealand was amazing!"

"Thanks for the suggestion, Serena," Serena muttered and rolled her eyes, "And for booking the beautiful room at the hotel. And for getting the concierge to suggest amazing places to go based on a lists of interested that you emailed to him the day before you arrived. We had a wonderful time! How can we ever repay you."

"Yes, Serena, thank you. Kevin and I really do appreciate it," Mia nodded her head and the pointed down the hallway, "That's why we bought you all a little something from New Zealand. To say thank you for everything you guys have done for us for the wedding, and for taking care of Riley while we were gone," Mia looked directly at Lauren when she said that, "Really, thank you."

"Anytime," Lauren smiled back. She still felt guilty for letting Riley get hurt on her watch, but Mia and Kevin had both assured her everything was fine between them, and fortunately Riley would recover completely within a couple of weeks. Lauren counted her blessings and was trying to put the incident behind her. It had been just as much of a learning experience for her as it had been for Riley.

Noa brought over the suitcase reserved only for souvenirs as the boys gathered around. No one had brought it up, not wanting to seem selfish for asking where the presents were hiding, but they were all eager to see what they were getting.

Mia pulled out a very small t-shirt first as Kevin took Terran in his arms.

"Look what we got you, buddy," Kevin took the shirt from Mia and held it up to show Kevin. It was a yellow shirt with the words: _My Aunt and Uncle went to New Zealand, and all they got me was this lousy T-shirt._

"Bink bink!" Terran grabbed the shirt and snuggled it to his cheek. Kevin saw the gesture of affection and turned to Serena and James.

"What's a bink bink?"

"That's what he calls his blanket," Serena chuckled and took her son back from Kevin, "He thinks all clothes are blankets. If it means anything, he loves his blanket."

Terran cuddled with his t-shirt so Mia and Kevin assumed that meant he was happy with his souvenir. They weren't quite sure what to get the one-year old, who would never even remember they had left him for a week to be in New Zealand. A souvenir was a bit pointless, but they refused to leave him out.

Mia and Kevin handed out the other gifts while Riley waited patiently for her turn. Her parents had promised her presents and she hoped they hadn't forgotten about her. She would have to wait a little longer, though, as her parents turned back to her aunt Emily and her uncle Mike.

"I couldn't resist," Mia said as she reached into the suitcase and pulled out two stuffed toys for the twins. One of the toys was a little sheep, and the other was a kiwi bird. "I know Serena bought the twins pretty much everything but…"

"You know," Emily smiled and looked up at Mike, "She never bought them a special bear. Blankets, yes, but no cuddly bears."

"Well, that's everything," Kevin closed up the suitcase and tried to conceal a smirk as he glanced quickly to Mia. Riley's eyes widened in a panic. Her parents had abandoned her for a week on the night of her birthday, and they hadn't even brought her back a present. Her eyes started to water and she couldn't look to either of them. Kevin saw the sad look in his daughter's eyes and took her in his arms, "Aw, Mia, I think we forgot something."

Mia's eyes widened in horror. She opened the suitcase again but it was empty.

"Aw, shoot! I think we forgot all of Riley's presents at the hotel."

"I told you to double check we had them," Kevin said and gave Riley a gentle squeeze. "Aw, sorry, kiddo."

"You… you forgetted… my… my presents? You… you… promised…"

"Wait… wait a minute," Mia tapped her chin and smirked, "You know what, I think I have something special for Riley in another bag. The super special present. It might be in the car, let me go see."

Mia got up and walked outside to the car. Kevin carried Riley over the window to watch. Riley prayed her mother hadn't forgotten all her presents and watched very carefully as Mia searched through the car.

It seemed to be a bit of a struggle, but Mia pulled out a suitcase from the trunk and Riley's eyes opened. Kevin let out a sigh.

"I guess we didn't forget all the presents after all. That was a close call."

"I'm getting my presents?" Riley cried happily and could barely contain her excitement. If she could walk on her own, she would have raced outside to help her mother with the bag, but unfortunately she had to wait for Mia to get back inside and sit on the couch. Kevin put his daughter in Mia's lap. Riley was shaking so much from her excitement. "What did you bringed back for me?"

Mia opened the bag just a little bit and stuck her hand inside. She pulled out a bottle with sand, stones, and seashells inside.

"From mine and daddy's very favourite beach."

"I collected all the pink rocks I could find," Kevin said as he pointed out the rocks that had a slight pink shade to them.

Mia reached into the bag again and this time pulled out a dress for Riley, "Oh, daddy and I went shopping one day just for you, and found this perfect dress. Doesn't it look like…"

"Princess dress!" Riley snatched the dress from her mother, "If I wear this and my pink Ranger mask, I can be a Samurai princess!"

"I thought the exact same thing," Mia chuckled and then reached into her bag one more time, "And we got you one more present, all the way from New Zealand."

Mia pulled out a stuffed sheep toy from the bag, one a little bigger than the toy she had bought for Mike and Emily's twins and presented it to Riley. The little girl hugged the sheep tightly and that's when she found out there was a second part to the gift.

"We love you, Riley," a voice from the sheep said. Riley's eyes widened and she squeezed the sheep over and over again.

"Do you like it?" Kevin asked. Riley looked up and nodded her head.

"When are you going back?"

"Not the reaction we were looking for," Mia laughed.


	88. Life Moves Forward

_Author's Note: I think we can all feel that Samurai is going to come to an end. Ideas for Megaforce are coming and I would like to end the Samurai series soon (before I start beating the dead horse). The time that passes between chapters is going to grow as I wrap things up. I'm still working to give you guys the best, and so I hope you enjoy these final chapters of the Way of the Samurai Series. I appreciate all your support!_

Lauren was sitting in her office at the Shiba's Dojo and looking over the profiles of some of her students. The dojo had now been opened for a few months and just as Lauren expected, Master Xandred's attacks of Panorama City had encouraged people to learn to protect themselves. She had students of all ages signing up, and more and more people were showing interest everyday as word of mouth spread around town. If that weren't enough, new monsters had started turning up in a neighbouring city: Harwood County. Danger never crossed the city lines, but after the terror the citizens from Panorama had endured, very few people were willing to take the chance with their limited knowledge of basic martial arts.

At this time of day, it was the younger students who were having a class. Lauren had offered Emily the position of a Sensei and had assigned her the younger classes. Between her, Lauren, and Jayden, she was the best at making learning fun and educational for the kids, and they all loved their Sensei Emy. For many of the students, it would be a while before they could practice any serious martial arts, but they were learning to focus, keep a calm mind, and how to respect their opponents, their weapons, and their own limitations.

Few injuries had occurred since the dojo had opened up. Lauren had initially been worried after Riley's swordplay incident months before that she wouldn't be able to handle any cases of her students, especially the younger ones, hurting themselves under her watch, but she had followed advice from Mike, Emily, and the past generation of Samurai who had all taught their children. Fortunately, there hadn't been any severe incidents, and Lauren was determined to keep it that way.

Jayden worked at the dojo as well, but split his time between being a Sensei and taking classes to learn how to properly run a business. Though he found a lot of the learning came from experience, the classes did prepare him for anything that would come up in the future. Because he spent his days in class and doing homework, he took the afternoon shift, which meant he spent his time teaching the middle aged kids. He was responsible for the older school-aged children as well as the teenagers and it was exactly where he felt comfortable. After leading a team of Rangers and helping them train every day, and that team being young in age, he knew how to handle the middle crowd. He knew exactly how to get them to behave, how to discipline them when they started acting up, and how to keep the lessons entertaining (he did get some advice from Mike and Antonio on that front).

Lauren took the evening classes, with the college aged students and the more mature adults. Some of the older men laughed when they first realized they were taking lessons from Lauren. Her appearance was deceiving. Though she was older than her Samurai team – some by a few years, she did look young. Her size didn't work in her favour either. Most of the men who walked into the dojo were convinced they would snap her in half.

They had been proven wrong. All Lauren had to do to show them she was the best sensei they could find anywhere in the city, and possibly even the country, was challenge the biggest man in class. Of course, he didn't stand a chance and now she had a whole class that respected every word that came out of her mouth.

She loved her job. She loved every part of it. And the very best part of all of it was that she got to work with her family. Ji and Kate stopped by often to lend a hand whenever they could, Jayden co-owned the dojo with her, Antonio ran the kitchen in the dojo and worked two to three times a week with Lauren, and Emily had a full time position.

A knock on the door grabbed her attention and she looked up to see Jayden walking in. He had his bag over his shoulder, which meant he had just gotten back from class, and he carried a paper in his hand. He put his bag on the floor by Lauren's desk and the paper in her hands.

"A new student wants to sign up. Well, his parents want to sign him up."

Lauren had a look at the student's name and smirked, "Terran Michael Smith?"

"He's one and a half," Jayden said, "I agree, it's a little young, but he's got the spirit of a real Samurai. I can feel it."

Lauren chuckled, "Smith doesn't sound like a Samurai descendant to me."

"I think it's more on the mother's side."

"Oh, yeah?"

Jayden nodded his head, "Yeah, and not that I like to gossip, but I hear the father isn't his biological father."

"Really?"

"I heard, his biological father was also quite the warrior – so he's definitely got the fighter's blood. We could have a great Samurai in our hands."

"We'd have to talk to Emily," Lauren smirked, "She would be his sensei."

The door opened and Emily groaned, "Seriously? You brought Dekker into this? We agreed never to mention his name again where Terran's concerned."

"James just stopped by with this," Lauren held up the registration form for Terran, "You know, if we approve…"

"He'll be in my class. I know," Emily nodded and pointed to the form, "I filled in that form, dropped it off with James this morning for him to sign it, and he brought it in."

"So you're okay with this?" Jayden asked and then pointed to Emily's expanding stomach. She was moving along with her pregnancy with her twins. She was getting bigger and bigger by the day. "You're barely keeping up with the little ones already."

"I'm keeping up just fine," Emily crossed her arms over her chest, "Besides, it'll be good for Terran to get started early. I think he's a little bored around the house."

"He's a baby."

"He's smart!" Emily shook her head, "You know what he did the other week? Mike and I got him down for bed and when we went downstairs to watch TV, we couldn't find the remote."

"So?"

"So, the next morning, we woke up, and when I went to change Terran's diaper, guess what I found."

"I really don't want to," Jayden chuckled and shook his head. Emily frowned.

"He didn't eat it. When I took off his pyjama pants, the remote fell out. The little bugger hid it from us all night."

"And that makes him smart?"

"He gave me that look. Puppets and singing cartoons aren't enough for him. I think he's ready."

"Well, if you're ready to take him, we'll get him started," Lauren nodded her head and took Terran's form back, "But remember, you got yourself into this mess."

Emily nodded her head excitedly and rushed back out to her classes. She couldn't leave a bunch of kids alone in a dojo for too long, even with the office door open. If she had learned anything over the last few months of babysitting Terran and helping out with Riley, as well as teaching, it was that it took only seconds for chaos to ensue.

-Samurai-

Serena was out to lunch with James and Terran. Since getting married, she loved spending time with her family. As they had agreed, Serena and James had married on Serena's parent's farm in a beautiful, but still very simple wedding.

There had been no honeymoon after the wedding. Mike and Emily had been responsible for looking after Terran while Serena and James were gone, but given both had jobs, and Emily was working through a pregnancy with the tiresome twins, Serena and James had taken their vacation before Emily blew up. It was still the magical experience Serena had been expecting, even though it was very unorthodox.

James had been in the bathroom of the restaurant cleaning Terran up. Their little boy was getting bigger and smarter, but he was still difficult to take out to restaurants.

Serena had been alone at the table for a while. Long enough for a waitress who had just started her shift to think she was out to lunch by herself. When Serena noticed the waitress looking her way and nervously trying to flirt with her, she smirked. Seeing the grin, the waitress came over.

"I'm really sorry… or maybe I'm not, but I couldn't help but… I mean… well, I was working over the bar and spotted you and… if you want to come over, maybe I could get you a drink… on… well, on…"

"I'm flattered," Serena said and held up her left hand, showing off her ring, "but I'm also taken. And straight."

The waitress' face turned a dark red, which kicked and idea into Serena's head. It had been a while since Lauren had come back home from living a life in almost complete isolation. She had gotten used to having a family, having friends, and was adapting very well to the crazy world she found herself in. However, Lauren often found herself alone. When the whole Samurai family got together, everyone had someone to cuddle with but Lauren. Time and time again, the red Ranger denied that she felt lonely, but Serena could see a little curiosity sparking in her Samurai leader's eyes.

"I do have a friend, though," Serena spoke up just as the waitress turned to leave. "She's a bit like me. Blonde, too, which I guess is your type."

"Yeah… yeah, a little bit… I guess, I…"

"She's a little new to the lesbian thing too."

"You can tell?"

Serena nodded her head and caught a glance of James and Terran coming out from the men's bathroom. She knew she had to hurry it up.

"I'll see if she's free sometime this week for dinner here. You working?"

"All week, unfortunately," the waitress sighed, "I've got to pay for college somehow."

"See you then," Serena smiled to the waitress as she walked off. James and Terran sat down.

"That wasn't our waitress. What was that about?"

"Just flirting," Serena teased. James gave his wife a stern look.

"Serena, you're way too comfortable in your sexuality."

"I know," Serena chuckled and then gently held James' face as she leaned in to kiss him, "I'm going to try and set her up with Lauren."

"Lauren? Do you think she's ready for that?" James looked slightly concerned. "Relationships are a big thing. There's a lot she'll need to…"

"I always thought of relationships as kind of… learn as you go," Serena shrugged her shoulders. She reached out and took Terran, seating him on her lap. "I think she's as ready as she's going to get. And she'll have help."

"Alright, well, I guess the decision is Lauren's anyways," James put his hand in the air to call over the waitress; "You didn't want dessert, did you?"

Serena shook her head and pointed to Terran, "With this mess monster? We should get out of here before he decides to redecorate."


	89. A Surprise Party

Antonio very carefully walked into the Shiba House with a cake that was worth almost as much as his fish cart. Lauren's birthday had finally rolled around, and it was her first one since she had come home. Jayden and Antonio wanted to make it special and they also wanted to surprise her. The party would be the best she had ever experienced, and the best she would ever experience. All her friends and family were invited, and Lauren had no idea it was coming.

She was out of the house for the day. Summer was coming to an end, so Mike and Serena both had to get ready to return to work which left Emily alone for the day – at least it was the excuse Lauren received for why she was spending the day with Emily.

Emily's pregnancy was also reaching its end and her stomach had expanded about as far as it could go. With her tiny body, her baby bump had been noticeable from an earlier point, and twins only made it grow a little bigger, a little faster. At the start of her ninth month, Emily didn't want to be left alone for even just five minutes. She needed help with nearly everything.

"Don't drop it," Ally smiled as she took the cake from Antonio, who was also carrying a few bags filled with decorations and one was his present to Lauren. Ally was Lauren's girlfriend. The two had met one night at a restaurant and Ally had been Lauren's waitress. A little flirting from Ally sparked Lauren's interest. When she reciprocated Ally asked her on a date. They had had a bit of a slow start with Ally and Lauren both being nervous around each other, but they soon grew comfortable and were now happily in a relationship that was sure to last a while.

"Sorry," Antonio said as he followed Ally to the kitchen and saw she, Jayden, Ji, and Kate had already gotten the decorations set up there. "I was just thinking of Emily trying to get up from the couch."

"We need to focus on the party," Jayden reminded his fiancé and then gave him a quick kiss, "Emily's only going to be able to keep her distracted for so long."

"Let's get this party started!" Mike's voice called out through the house as he and the rest of the Samurai family, minus Lauren and Emily of course, walked into the house.

"Not without the birthday girl," Jayden called back, "You guys get started on the common room!"

-Samurai-

Emily glared at her stomach, "Come out now. Get out. Leave me alone!"

"Pregnancy can't be that bad," Lauren came back from the kitchen at Emily's house. Emily turned to her with an intense glare that made the red Ranger shutter.

"I'm carrying two demons inside of me. They kick and punch all night, my feet hurt, my back hurts, my boobs hurt, I can't get up and breathe at the same time. I can't do anything and breathe at the same time, and I haven't seen my feet since forever ago! I only know they're still there because they kill! And that's just the start of it."

"Sorry," Lauren shrugged her shoulders and sat down beside her cousin, "I'm new to this pregnancy thing."

"Sorry," Emily sighed and looked to Lauren. "I know this isn't how you wanted to celebrate your first birthday back…"

"I'll have more," Lauren shook her head as she wrapped a comforting arm around Emily, "Besides, at least I'm still with family. Growing up, that's what I wanted most for my birthday."

"And it's official now. Well, as official as it can get," Emily nodded her head. "Mentor and Kate seem really happy."

"They are," Lauren smiled, "It's really sweet."

"And what about you and Ally? You probably had plans to see each other today…"

"Emily, it's fine. I really don't mind."

"But…"

"You and the other Samurai fought two years to protect the world and my brother. I don't mind helping you out today, even if it is my birthday."

"Have you told Ally about that yet?" Emily looked over at Lauren and asked, "You know, how you're the mysterious and awesome red Ranger who came in at the last minute to save the world from all evil."

"I remember Jayden being the one to defeat Xandred."

"I remember you running right into battle against Xandred without the Ranger suit to protect you. And a broken arm. Maybe the Sealing Symbol didn't work, but there's no way we ever could have defeated Xandred without your help. You're a hero. Isn't it about time Ally knows?"

Lauren shrugged her shoulders, "Samurai normally wait until after engagement to…"

"Yeah, but there's no one we're trying to protect by hiding out identities," Emily shrugged her shoulders. "The Nighlok are gone, and aside from annoying fans and the people out there who still hate us, our identities being public won't change much. It wouldn't put anyone in danger."

"I guess I'll tell her but I've got to figure out how. I mean, it was easier for you. Mike was a Samurai."

"You can talk to Serena. She had to tell James. Although… given how that talk went, maybe not. Maybe…"

"Maybe?" Lauren pressed but Emily shook her head and grabbed her stomach. After a moment, she took in a breath.

"Sorry. I think the twins aren't getting along," Emily glared at her stomach, "Don't make me come in there!"

"Are you sure everything's okay?" Lauren asked with a look of concern. "You've been doing this all…"

"I don't want you to miss out," Emily said and looked to the clock on the wall, "Jayden and Antonio should be home from working at the dojo, right?"

"Yeah."

"You should at least celebrate with them. Why don't we head to the Shiba House, I'll nap in my old room and you give them a call. You can at least celebrate today with your brother."

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah," Emily nodded her head. "Consider me getting off the couch my birthday gift to you. Now, help me get off the couch."

Emily held her hands out and Lauren laughed. She grabbed her cousin and pulled her up.

"Need help with your shoes too?"

"Don't let me walk out with different shoes," Emily nodded, "Again…"

-Samurai-

Riley was responsible for keeping watch for her aunts while the Samurai put the finishing touches on the party. When a car pulled into the yard, Riley turned away from the window and cried, "She's here!"

"Everyone hide!" Antonio called out and his voice reached nearly every room in the house as the Samurai raced to the common room and all found somewhere to hide. It wasn't a surprise party unless they all jumped out and shouted surprise.

They waited for the door to open. And they waited. And waited. Suddenly, Mike's phone rang. All eyes turned to him and he held up his finger, signally for everyone to stay quiet.

"Emily, what's up, we're…"

"Emily's water broke," it was Lauren's voice, but that wasn't what surprised Mike.

"Wait, her what?"

"I'll take her to the hospital, can you meet us there?"

Mike jumped out of hiding and ran to the door. He burst out of the Shiba House and saw Lauren was trying to help Emily walk back to the car. He dropped his phone and ran to be with his wife, surprising Lauren who had no idea he had been in the Shiba House.

"Emily," he took her from Lauren and sat her down in the passenger seat, "Did it really? It just…"

"We have to go," Emily muttered through her teeth as she looked to Mike, "The little monsters want out."

"Don't we have a little time? The books say…"

"I've been having contractions since last night," Emily whispered. Mike's eyes widened.

"You…"

"I didn't want to ruin the party," Emily said. "Until now, they've been few and far between."

"And now?"

"It's baby time."


	90. A New Life

"And we had cake!"

"We were going to surprise you," Jayden said to his sister as they sat in the hospital waiting room. Emily had gone into labour, and the doctors had recommended she deliver the babies via C-section, so the whole Samurai clan would stick around and wait for the announcement of their newest family members.

The wait wasn't too exciting, so Jayden and the others passed the time by telling Lauren how they had planned on making her birthday special.

"And we had cake!" Riley continued to pipe in every chance she got. She wanted everyone to remember that there was a big cake at home waiting to be eaten. Of course, that couldn't happen until Lauren blew out the candles. If they all sat around at the hospital, itwould never happen.

"We had Emily keep you busy for the day," Jayden ignored Riley and looked to his sister. "We set up the Shiba house with everything we needed to make your birthday special.

Ally wrapped one arm around her girlfriend and nodded to agree with Jayden, "It was going to be amazing. I'm sure you would have loved it."

"And there was cake!" Riley finally threw her hands up in defeat and turned to her father, "No one cares about the cake!"

Kevin sat Riley on his lap and hugged her while he shook his head, "We'll eat it, Riles, I promise."

Lauren leaned into Ally and took her brother's hand. She looked out to everyone.

"You guys are acting like my birthday's ruined."

"It's your first birthday back home," Antonio shrugged and then quickly turned to Ally, "You know, because she's been in Japan for a few years studying."

"I know the story," Ally smiled and kissed the side of Lauren's head, "She and I do talk, you know."

"Just… making sure."

Lauren looked out to her whole family with a smile, "Guys, this birthday is, by far, the best I've had. Even if I'm going to have to share it with two more little monsters. I'm surrounded by family. I couldn't ask for anything more."

"We still bought you something," Jayden said. "Once we go home, you can open your gift."

"Supize!" Terran cried out and threw his hands in the air. Lauren chuckled and took the little boy from his father.

"Aw, thank you."

-Samurai-

Serena nervously paced back and forth in the hallway. Only Mike had been allowed in the operating room while the doctors delivered the twins, so Serena and Mia were forced to wait just like the others, only in a different part of the hospital.

"Will you relax?" Mia looked up from chewing her nails. Serena glared at her. Mia put her hands behind her back. "It's going to be fine. They're going to be fine. All of them."

"I know," Serena nodded, "I just… this is tough. It's… it's… I'm nervous."

"Yeah, I know, but the doctors know…"

"No," Serena shook her head, "What if I'm a shitty aunt?"

"What?" Mia stifled her laugh and tried to look serious. "You're amazing with Riley. It's just like being a mother, only fun. You're going to be great."

"What if I screw up these kids?" Serena started to pace again, "Oh my god, what if I'm just as shitty with them as I was with Emily?"

"You were great with Emily."

"I mean, if I screw up my own kid, well, at least it was my kid," Serena paced and chewed on her thumb nervously. "What if I give her kids bad advice? What if they don't like me? What if they don't like Terran or…?"

"Mrs. Smith," a doctor called and Serena and Mia both turned. Serena saw the blood on his smock and instantly she started to panic, assuming the worst.

"What happened? Are they okay? If you did anything, doc, I'll rip your…"

"A girl and a boy," the doctor smiled to Serena, "Both are strong and healthy. Mom's resting, but she's ready for a couple of visitors. Congratulations."

Serena smiled brightly and turned to Mia. She grabbed her friend's arms and started to bounce excitedly. "A boy and a girl! A boy and a girl! Mia! Mia, I'm an aunt! Mia! Mia!"

Suddenly, she let go and raced down to find Emily's room with the twins. Mia frowned and followed the excited aunt.

"So Riley's just chopped liver?" she called.

-Samurai-

The gathering to celebrate Lauren's and the twin's birthdays took place at the Shiba House, where there was more than enough room to accommodate everyone and their families. All were excited to celebrate Lauren's birthday, and all were excited to see the newest additions to the family.

Except for Mike, who passed off his newborn baby daughter to his father in-law. The tall, the strong, the big Jack took the very tiny, very fragile, and very precious baby girl in his strong, rough arms and Mike was worried he would watch his daughter break.

Fortunately, Jack knew how to be gentle.

Terran stared at the carrier that was holding his new boy cousin, Felix. He wasn't sure what to do with the new baby, or why everyone who used to want to hug and cuddle him suddenly wanted to hug and cuddle the new baby. Terran didn't like it. He grabbed his little back of cheerios and threw one at the baby. Felix didn't wake, fortunately, but Terran was snatched up by Lauren and cuddled.

"He gets his self-defence skills from his aunt Emily, I see," Lauren tickled Terran's stomach, "In a couple of years, you might upgrade to a whole cookie. Then you'll show Felix whose boss."

Emily lay on the couch, trying to sleep in spite of all the noise. She wanted to celebrate with everyone, but she was still so tired. Motherhood was hard.

Antonio took a seat beside her and offered her a small slice of cake, "If it's any consolation, your students are doing well."

For the last couple of months of her pregnancy, Emily had been forced to take maternity leave. Her stomach had gotten too big for her to be of any use as a martial arts teacher, and she was normally too tired to deal with a class full of young kids. Antonio volunteered to take over for her until she was ready to come back and as it turned out, he was also great with kids.

Emily sat up, took the plate of cake and then smiled at Antonio, "Thanks, but I'm sure you can't wait to get back to work on the fishing cart."

"Can I tell you something?" Antonio looked around and then leaned into Emily, "I want a restaurant."

"You… really? Antonio, that's pretty cool."

"It's pretty hard, though," Antonio said, "I don't know if I can do it. And Lauren and Jayden were nice enough to let me open up a little kitchen in the dojo…"

"So? They can find someone else to work in the kitchen. You'll do great in a restaurant. You should talk to them."

"I don't know…"

"You need to do what you love," Emily encouraged him, "If you want to open up a restaurant, I support you completely. How about, you think about it until I come back for my job. If you still really want to do it, I'll help you talk to Jayden and Lauren."

"You really believe in me."

"You'll do great," Emily nodded and then noticed her father teasing Mike. She groaned loudly and rolled her eyes, "Be right back. Dad! Quinn's not ammunition for you to use against Mike!"

From her spot at the coffee table, Riley watched her aunt get up to rescue the new baby and then turned her attention over to the kitchen. She had waited two days for the cake to be served and was still waiting. She decided she would just get up and help herself.

"Terran," she whispered to her ally and waved him over. He climbed down from Lauren's lap as she and Ally talked and walked over to his cousin. Riley took his hand, "Forget those cheerios. We're going after the cake."

"Yum," Terran answered as he walked with her into the kitchen. He then waited by the counter as Riley grabbed a chair and pushed it over. They both climbed up and looked down at the delicious cake.

Just as Riley was about to put her hands in the cake, she heard a voice.

"Stop it. What do you two think you're doing?"

Riley turned around and saw her great-grandmother standing in the doorway. She acted innocent.

"Nothing."

"Cake!" Terran cried and pointed to the cake.

Mako looked over her shoulder, saw the party was busy socializing and then walked to the counter. She pulled out a knife, cut off three pieces of cake. She put them on three different plates and then walked off. Riley and Terran followed her down to the bedrooms.

"When someone asks, we say nothing," Mako instructed the kids, "Do you understand."

"Yeah," Riley nodded excitedly and received her piece. Terran looked up. All he wanted was cake.

"You keep your trap shut, young man," Mako offered him his plate and they all ate their pieces in secret.

Down the hallway, Serena pulled James to their old bedroom, stealing him from the party for just a moment. After she shut the door, she jumped into his arms and kissed him.

"I have news."

"I know, I know," James chuckled and hugged his wife, "It's kind of hard not to know about Felix and Quinn after you've changed one of their diapers. They definitely take after Mike…"

"I'm pregnant."

James' jaw dropped, "You're… you… I'm sorry, repeat."

Serena smiled brightly, took James' hands and looked him in the eyes, "I'm pregnant."

"Like… like, with a baby."

"No," Serena rolled her eyes and shook her head, "No, I'll be giving birth to a penguin. You know, I thought it was kind of strange at first too, but penguins are really cute, so we might be able to make this work. Terran might have a lot of questions when he's older, but not the penguin, he can't talk."

James frowned at his wife, "You could be a little nicer. I am in shock."

Serena smirked playfully, "Good shock, or should I help you pack your bags…"

"Good shock," James pulled Serena into his arms, "Of course, good shock. We're… we're going to have another baby?"

"Number two," Serena nodded her head and rested it on James' chest.

"How are we going to tell Terran? Do we even have to tell him or…"

"I already told him," Serena looked up and bit her lip, "You weren't home when I found out and… well, yeah."

"What happened?" James chuckled. Serena shrugged her shoulders.

"He threw pasta at me. I don't think it was intentional, but it hit my stomach… do you think he's already jealous?"

"He's been throwing cheerios at Felix and Quinn all day. If he's not jealous now, he's going to be."

Serena sighed and leaned back into James. He took her in his arms and couldn't stop himself from smiling.

"I love you."

Back in the common room, Jayden and Kevin got their hands on their newest nephew and already they were teaching him to punch.

"Hiya, just like that, Felix. You cry out and hiya…"

"Dudes, really?" Mike stood over his friends, "and I thought you were hard on me."

He took his son from Kevin's arms, "Rule number one: no being hard-asses around my son or daughter. Not until they need a hard-ass in their lives. Got it."

"He's a natural," Jayden said and gestured to Felix, who squirmed in his father's arms and held out his little hands, "See, he's showing the air around him he's the boss. I think we've got a great Samurai in our midst."

Mike looked down at his son and then nodded his head, "Hey, you know what, I think we do. I mean, Felix and Quinn are both the first Samurai to be born from two families."

"Technically, firstborns get all the perks," Kevin reminded Mike and then got up from the couch, "Whose got Quinn? If we're teaching anyone, it should be her."

"Hey, no!" Mike put Felix in Jayden's arms and ran after his best friend, "No way, Kevin. My daughter's never going to be a Samurai! She's too precious and… No! No, no, no!"

_**The End**_

_Epilogue_

_Eventually, Jayden finished earning his business degree, but by then, the dojo was already doing so well, all that was left for him to do was keep up with his paperwork, make sure everything stayed in order, and that, at the end of the day, his students left having learned something of value. He loved his job and he loved working alongside his sister._

_His relationship with Antonio continued to be strong. They didn't yet have a date for their wedding, but they were positive they would one day be able to walk down the aisle in front of their friends and family and celebrate their love. Fortunately, they were also content with everything they already had. Fortunately, they knew their love didn't need to be "legal" to know it was true and pure._

_Antonio did tell Jayden and Lauren about his idea to open up a restaurant and he earned their full support. It took a little extra work getting his dream to come true, but plans were starting to come together, and a few of Antonio's loyal customers from his cart business had already pledged their loyalty to his new restaurant. Antonio was confident he was going to be a great success._

_Kevin continued working at the pool teaching kids to swim. He loved his job and couldn't imagine doing anything else with his life. His passion showed at work, as he quickly became known as the best swimming instructor anyone could get. People were signing up for lessons and asking for him specifically. He knew what he was doing, and he had learned how to make it fun._

_From time to time Mia picked up shifts at the local day care, but for the most part she stayed at home. She loved looking after Riley before and after school. When Kevin came home from work, sometimes exhausted from having been swimming all day, Mia enjoyed making dinner while he told her about his day._

_Their jobs did have something in common. Kevin did teach an older crowd, but both Mia and Kevin spent their days with kids. So much so, that coming home to Riley, though very rewarding, didn't feel like it was enough. Mia had always said she wanted two kids and now Kevin couldn't help but agree. They decided to adopt once more. When Riley heard she was getting a little sibling she had made it clear she wanted a girl._

_In the end, Mia and Kevin adopted a baby boy. Riley wasn't happy with a stinky brother at first, but grew to love Jesse._

_Ji and Kate eventually tied the knot and had agreed they weren't going to have any kids. They spent most of their time in the Shiba House and living with Lauren, but some weekends, they travelled up to Kate's family's farm. It was a slow and simple life but Ji especially loved it. In his lifetime, he had seen three wars and was happy that his life was finally slowing down and he could be a normal, married man._

_Lauren and Ally's relationship got stronger and Lauren seemed a lot happier now that she had a partner to rely on. She still spent a lot of time with her brother and working at the dojo, but with Ally she was comfortable getting away from the Samurai life and exploring something new. The relationship was fun, and as far as her family was concerned, it was a great thing for her. Ally had been welcomed with open arms._

_The Shiba's Dojo had been a dream come true for Lauren. She had students who were very eager to not only learn martial arts, but who were also very interested in learning the way of the Samurai. Though it was hard to do, many of her students brought in facts that had learned from school or the internet to try and get Lauren to hear something she didn't already know. Some students were so passionate they even walked into a library and looked up Samurai history in a book for facts that could stump Lauren. None had to this point, but the kids were getting smarter. And their martial arts was improving. They were nowhere near the level of the Samurai Rangers, but Lauren and Jayden were very proud of their students._

_A few months into their pregnancy, Serena finally came out and announced it to the rest of the family. Everyone was glad to hear the news and once again, help was offered from everyone. Serena worked in the school until the end of her maternity leave while James stayed home to care for Terran._

_They kept the gender of the baby a secret to everyone after finding out for themselves. They wanted it to be a surprise. When the baby did come, they were proud to announce the birth of their daughter Sammie. Serena was even more proud to announce she had taken all the drugs offered and she had given birth in a hospital and not the snow._

_Terran wasn't happy with his new sister at first, and did throw cheerios at her while she was sleeping. He did get used to having her around the house, and as she got a little older, she was easier to play with. Instead of being jealous of her, Terran grew protective. Sammie was his baby sister, and no one could throw cheerios at her but him._

_Finally, Mike and Emily were very happy with their twins. Though two babies at once was a handful, they found there was no greater joy. They continued to rent out the house Patrick and Christina had offered them, and would be doing so for the next few years. Mike kept his job at the school, and worked hard to make sure he stayed there long term. Emily, eventually, took her job back at the Shiba's dojo. Fortunately, working for family meant she didn't need to pay for babysitting. She could take both her twins to work with her, and could usually convince Lauren and Ally to watch them while she was busy teaching._

_Everyone was happy. The war against the Nighlok was long over and the Samurai Rangers, their families, and their descendants could finally move on and live their lives in peace._

_**Author's Note: **__Though I loved writing Samurai, all good things must come to an end eventually. I hope you guys loved reading this series as much as I loved writing it (though I doubt that's possible :) )._

_With every end comes a new beginning. I've gotten started with my work on Megaforce (if you haven't seen it, check out my profile) and I plan on committing myself to that for what looks like the next two years. If you've loved the Samurai Series please give the Megaforce Series a try and let me know what you think. Your comments/reviews are very appreciated. For those of you who haven't yet seen my Megaforce Series and would like to get started, the order of the stories is: __**No To Date Nights – The Party Night – Project Partners.**_

_I hope to bring the Samurai Rangers back into the Megaforce Series for a team-up and possibly earlier in cameos. As many of you have noticed, the two series do cross over and take place in the same universe. Hopefully I'll get the chance to write in some if not all of the Samurai._

_And I wanted to give a big thank you to those who've left their reviews/comments/helpful criticism. Your support means the world to me and I'm so thankful for all your help and support! You guys are the best! A project this big couldn't have been so successful without you!_

_Well, that's all! Thanks for reading everyone, and I hope to see you reading the Megaforce series!_

_Lily Hanson_

_PS: This whole series is 1,124 chapters in length._


End file.
